He Looks Really Grumpy
by MorningSkies
Summary: Viktor Krum doesn't want to be the Durmstrang champion, in fact he's not even sure if he wants to be Bulgaria's star seeker anymore. However, he knows who he does want- the unknown girl who spends all her time in the library talking about house elves ...
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything, and the three Goblet of Fire quotes aren't mine. I could cry :( **

* * *

_'He looks really grumpy.'_

_'Who cares what he looks like? He's unbelievable.' _

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

* * *

_Viktor Krum was soaring across the Quidditch pitch of the Vratsa Vultures' home stadium, the Golden Snitch which always seemed to be magically attracted to his hand, continuing to flutter out of his reach. No matter how much he pushed his Firebolt, he couldn't touch the Snitch; even when it darted over his shoulder, his arm didn't seem to want to move to take it. _

_And then Peter King, his Puddlemore United counterpart was catching up with him, shooting past Viktor as though he were a butterfly lazily floating around. King was within a foot of the Snitch. His arm was extended. His fingers were brushing its wings. And it was over. King had it. _

_Viktor felt his feet skim grass without being aware that he'd descended, and all around him his team mates were also landing, screaming at their prized Seeker in outrage. A great bear of a man was storming onto the pitch, with the Coach hurrying after him and twitching with nerves. The gigantic man was yelling at the eighteen year old with whom he shared so many physical characteristics; only the bigger man always seemed so much larger, so much more imposing. _

_Viktor was protesting, arguing that he couldn't catch the Snitch but no one seemed to hear him. Meanwhile, the crowd was muttering angrily, batting around words such as 'disgusting,' 'useless' and 'waste of money…'_

Viktor awoke with a start and found himself drenched in an uncomfortable amount of sweat. It took him a moment to come to his senses and realise that he was not in the Vultures' stadium being shouted at by his father, but in a bed aboard the Durmstrang ship.

Yes, he was definitely on the ship, he reassured himself, as he felt the rocking of the waves beneath the vessel.

Also in the small cabin were three of his fellow seventh years and they were playing some Russian card game complete with a large bottle of vodka that was being passed round between them. None of them noticed him wake, or if they did they didn't show any acknowledgement of it.

Not that Viktor minded, in fact, on the whole he preferred most of his classmates when they were silent. When he had first been scouted for the Vultures last year, they had distinctively cooled towards him and never warmed up since. Of course his reception this year had been even more icy than usual; not only had he played in the World Cup Final, but he'd had the nerve to catch the Snitch and lose Bulgaria the game. Viktor still squirmed at the memory of his father's outrage after the match. Ending the match on _his _terms seemed the only thing he had been in control of that day.

Viktor glanced at his wristwatch and saw it was seven o clock in the morning; a perfectly reasonable time to get up but not an acceptable time to be drinking vodka. He supposed they hadn't even bothered going to bed and were taking advantage of the temporary absence of Karkaroff, whom it seemed impossible to avoid running into while breaking rules at Durmstrang.

Viktor swung his legs off the bed and got to his feet, not stumbling despite the rough wave movement. That was Seeker balance for you, he thought bitterly.

'Finally joining the big boys?' laughed one of the other seventh years, holding up the bottle of vodka and taking a swig.

Viktor remained silent but spared him one withering look; seriously, where did he get his sayings from?

He dressed quickly and headed out into the corridor, from where he could hear laughter and chattering from each room that led off of it. Clearly all the other Durmstrang seventh years were having a great time. It seemed to Viktor that he was the only miserable one on board.

No change there, then.

Unsure what else to do, Viktor climbed the short ladder at the end of the corridor and found himself on the deck of Durmstrang's prized ship, which was only actually used if there was an opportunity to show off to another magical school.

The morning air was crisp and a heavy breeze hit Viktor as he wandered over to the railings. He didn't mind this, however, because the deck was empty and he struggled to remember the last time he had been truly alone.

Only one year left, he thought to himself. One more year of Durmstrang and then he was supposed to be fully committing himself to the Vratsa Vultures and the national team.

His Quidditch career was something of a contradiction to Viktor. On one hand, flying was his favourite thing in the world to do. No, it was more than that. When he was in the air he felt untouchable, as though nothing or no one could hurt him. And that, in turn, was why he felt himself become more and more disillusioned with Quidditch each match he played. There was no doubt that he loved the challenge of catching the Snitch, yet playing in front of an expectant crowd felt so contained and entrapping- the exact opposite of why he loved flying.

'Good morning, Viktor,' came a booming voice that knocked him from his- admittedly slightly depressing- thoughts.

'Oh, good morning, headmaster,' said Viktor to Karkaroff who had just appeared on deck and was strolling over to him looking satisfied.

Karkaroff shook his hand, an annoying habit of his that did nothing to win Viktor the favour of his classmates, and then glanced out at the choppy sea.

'We'll be arriving early evening,' said Karkaroff, 'Planning on having the ship rise out of that lake in the Hogwarts grounds.'

'That sounds impressive,' said Viktor, unsure as to what else he was meant to say to that.

Karkaroff turned to him and gave him the smile which was so rarely cast upon any other student.

'I trust you to represent Durmstrang impeccably over the next few months, Viktor. I know you will make me and our institution proud.'

'Well, I haven't been picked by the goblet yet sir.'

Karkaroff waved this away, 'Details, Viktor, details. You will be picked. Who else would it pick?' his face screwed up unfairly as if thinking of how unsatisfactory every other student was.

Viktor was used to this kind of behaviour from Karkaroff, but it made him uncomfortable none the less. Academic wise he was no better than any other seventh year. It was true that he had good reflexes and a knack for knowing which spell to use when, but in Viktor's opinion that was mainly down to years of good natured duels with older brothers than anything else.

'You make Durmstrang proud,' nodded Karkaroff, resuming his satisfied look and gazing out to sea once more.

'Yes, sir.'

* * *

Durmstrang's ship actually arrived in Scotland early afternoon, but in true Karkaroff fashion, a grand entrance was required. So Viktor and his classmates had been stuck on the boat for a good six hours, waiting until nightfall so it could emerge dramatically from the lake to general applause.

Karkaroff got his way, and when they finally stepped onto dry land, hundreds of Hogwarts students and teachers were convening in front of the castle clapping enthusiastically.

Viktor was slightly taken aback when he saw the school, and judging by the many intakes of breaths beside him, so were most of his classmates. While Durmstrang was by no means a small place, Hogwarts castle was enormous, seemingly stretching on for miles. No wonder Karkaroff was employing his fake smile, thought Viktor amusingly, as he watched the headmaster greet his Hogwarts counterpart with a slightly resentful air about him.

Suddenly, he heard his own name being mentioned.

'Viktor, come along, into the warmth… you don't mind Dumbledore? Viktor has a slight head cold…' **(A/N: Quote from GoF, not mine!) **

Oh dear God, thought Viktor, as Karkaroff beckoned him forward and he had no option but to follow his headmaster through the whispering crowds. Everyone seemed to recognise him immediately, despite Viktor's attempts to keep his head down.

They could at least be subtle about it, thought Viktor bitterly, as he passed a lanky ginger boy who hissed to his friend that Viktor Krum had just walked past them.

Karkaroff ushered Viktor inside the castle, into a large entrance hall, where they were soon followed by the other Durmstrang students, many of whom were still looking around in awe. There was a bit of an awkward gathering around the door to the dining hall, since none of them were sure where they were supposed to sit. This was resolved when Karkaroff gestured them to a long table bedecked with green and silver banners, and Viktor found himself sitting next to a pale boy with a remarkably pointed face and cold eyes that instantly reminded Viktor of his own father's.

'Hello,' said the boy immediately, extending his hand to Viktor and speaking in the stereotypical accent that all foreigners assumed English people spoke in.

'Hello,' replied Viktor, shaking the boy's hand, 'I'm Viktor Krum.'

The boy rolled his eyes- once again reminding Viktor of his father's reaction to anyone saying something he disagreed with, 'Yes, I know who you are. I'm Draco Malfoy.'

The name Malfoy rang with a sense of familiarity somewhere in Viktor's mind; he was sure he had heard Karkaroff refer to someone with that surname before.

'I saw you in the World Cup,' continued Draco, before Viktor could say anything else. Across the table from him, two large boys who resembled rocks more than they did people, nodded along stupidly.

'Er, that's great,' replied Viktor, unsure what else to say to this, 'What did you think of the match?'

'Oh it was brilliant! The way you did that Wronski Faint was amazing!'

'Wronski Feint,' corrected Viktor automatically.

Draco blushed slightly and took a swig of his drink rather than reply. Viktor took advantage of his temporary silence to glance around the hall. As he looked up, he noticed that the same lanky ginger boy from earlier was staring at him from across the room. Viktor avoided his gaze, and his eyes fell on the girl sitting next to the boy. She was…

'So, I suppose you're entering the tournament?' asked Draco, pulling Viktor's attention away from the unknown Hogwarts student.

'Yes,' said Viktor sullenly, irritated that Draco had chosen that moment to speak.

The mention of the Triwizard Tournament had also done nothing to improve his bad mood. He wasn't even sure if he wanted to enter the stupid thing, but as usual it hadn't been his decision. As soon as his father had heard it was being held, Viktor had had no option but to agree to submit his name.

Well, he supposed he could man up and stop letting his father walk all over him, but that last choice wasn't particularly realistic.

'I hope you get it,' said Draco excitedly, 'Imagine being an international Quidditch player and Triwizard champion!'

Viktor gave a weak smile and tried to ignore the rising feeling of nausea inside of him.

* * *

The following morning found the Durmstrang students queuing in the Entrance Hall to put their names into the Goblet of Fire. All of them were chattering excitedly and debating what on earth the tasks could be. Viktor had somehow found himself pushed to the front of the queue by Karkaroff, as if putting his name in first was a guarantee of being chosen.

I don't want to do this. I don't want to do this. I don't want to do this.

'Hurry up, Viktor!' boomed Karkaroff.

Viktor was half tempted to run straight out of the castle there and then. He could grab his broomstick and go anywhere he wanted to.

Except it would make no difference, because wherever he went people would know who he was.

Taking a deep breath, Viktor stepped over the age line Dumbledore had drawn, and approached the goblet. Flames were dancing and hissing inside it, as he raised his hand, a piece of parchment clasped in it.

'Hurry up!' complained the next person in the queue.

Quickly, so that he couldn't change his mind, Viktor uncurled his fingers and let the slip of paper drop into the goblet. The flames turned red for a moment and then went back to how they had looked before, as though nothing had happened.

He stepped back and let the next person get near; his heart was beating incredibly quickly. It didn't help that the hall was filled with Hogwarts students, all of whom were looking at him.

'Go and ask him!' one girl urged her friend.

'No!' her companion retorted, 'You're the one who wants the autograph!'

Viktor hastily turned away from them, and found himself face to face with the boy he'd sat next to the night before.

'Hello, Viktor,' said Draco, grinning smugly at his fellow classmates, who seemed to be in awe that he was on first name terms with Viktor Krum, 'Are you coming into breakfast?'

'Erm, no, I'm not,' said Viktor, even though his stomach rumbled at that very point, 'I need to get some work done, I'm going to the library.'

And leaving Draco Malfoy and the rest of the crowd in the Entrance Hall looking rather bewildered, Viktor dashed up the staircase before anyone could follow him.

He hadn't actually got any work to do, but now he thought about it, a library was the perfect place to hide from the fan club he seemed to be acquiring- plenty of bookshelves to duck behind.

It took him a while to find the place, and he was forced to ask for directions from a rather horrible looking ghost covered in silver blood stains, but he eventually found himself in the library. Even better, it was deserted except for one girl sitting alone at a table.

Viktor chose a book off the shelf at random, sat down across the room from the girl, and began to read. It was hard to concentrate, however, because the girl kept muttering to herself as she flicked through her books. He caught the words 'slave labour' a few times, but had no idea as to what she was talking about.

This continued for a while, but it wasn't until she actually slammed a copy of 'Hogwarts: A History' down in frustration, that Viktor looked up at her properly.

When he did so, he felt a strange sensation in his stomach that he'd never experienced before. It was something completely different to his feelings when he was chasing the Snitch or when his father was berating him for something.

It was the girl who'd sat next to the tall, red-haired boy at dinner.

Viktor looked at her and smiled to himself.

He'd definitely made the right decision in coming to the library.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Should he go and talk to her?

Viktor pondered this for a good half an hour, all the while pretending to read but secretly sneaking covert glances at the unknown girl.

He had never experienced a feeling like this before, especially not over someone he'd never exchanged a word with. He didn't even know her name for God's sake! Yet there was something about her that just pulled him in.

Viktor had only ever had one proper girlfriend before. Her name had been Anna and she was the daughter of one of his father's friends. They'd dated for a good six months until Viktor had finally admitted to himself that she was more interested in him being a Quidditch player than his actually personality. He shuddered at the memory of his father's reaction to the breakup; apparently he'd gotten used to the idea that his son would end up with the only daughter of a wealthy businessman.

Viktor sat in the library for another ten minutes, trying to convince himself to go over and talk to the unknown girl. Just as he felt he'd built up enough courage to actually go over and speak to her, however, two boys appeared in the doorway.

It only took Viktor a moment to recognise one as the tall, ginger boy who had so openly gawked at him the previous night. The other boy was skinny with an unruly mop of dark hair. Viktor lifted his book slightly so that his face was mainly obscured; the last thing he wanted right now was to be asked for an autograph.

The two boys didn't seem to notice him however; instead they hurried over to where the girl was sitting, both of them looking half amused, half exasperated.

'Hermione, it is a Saturday!' exclaimed the red haired boy, looking at the books she was reading in mild disgust.

So that was her name. Hermione. Viktor chuckled to himself as he wondered how on earth he was ever supposed to pronounce that.

'Your point being?' Hermione asked, raising her eyebrows at the boy.

'We want to go and see Hagrid,' complained the dark haired boy, 'Don't tell me you'd prefer to be up here working on spew?'

'It's not spew!' she exclaimed in frustration.

Viktor had absolutely no idea what they were talking about, but he couldn't help himself listening anyway; she had such a nice voice.

'We know, we know,' said the ginger boy, looking slightly nervous, 'But can we just go to Hagrid's?'

'Fine,' snapped Hermione, piling her books together, 'Let me just put these back.'

The two boys headed out of the library, evidently neither of them particularly comfortable with being in the place, while Hermione moved over to the shelves to put her books back.

Spotting an opportunity, and feeling slightly reckless, Viktor stood up and walked over to her before he could convince himself otherwise.

'Would you like some help?'

Hermione turned to face him and gave him a rather surprised look, as though it was unusual for people to help others put their books back in the library; although as Viktor thought about this, he realised it probably was.

'Erm yes, I suppose you can,' she said after a moment, still looking slightly confused.

She handed him a stack of heavy reference books, all of which seemed to be on the subject of magical creatures.

'You are interested in this?' he asked, making what he felt was a rather brave stab at conversation.

'What?' she glanced down at the books in his hands, 'Oh yes, I'm interested in house elves you see. I've started a campaign to get them wages and better working conditions.'

Viktor was taken aback for a moment, mainly because of her obvious enthusiasm for the subject, but he couldn't help himself smiling.

'That sounds very worthwhile.'

Judging by her delighted expression that was the correct response; for she burst into a huge smile that lit up her deep brown eyes.

'Well I've set up a group if you'd like to join? It'd probably encourage others to join if you did.'

Viktor thought it very unlikely that any of his fellow Durmstrang students would want to be a part of anything that he had joined, but he supposed she was right about Hogwarts pupils. For once he didn't feel nauseous at the thought of how much attention he got from people.

'Yes, I'll join,' he said, rather impulsively.

'Brilliant,' she beamed, 'I really-'

She broke off as the ginger boy stuck his head round the doorway and called 'Hermione, hurry up.' The boy immediately noticed who she was talking to and his face turned the same colour as his hair, his mouth wide open in shock.

'I'd better go,' said Hermione, giving her friend a rather exasperated look, 'but we can talk about S.P.E.W when I see you next. I'm sure we'll run into each other.'

And with that, she abandoned the rest of the books and dashed out of the library to meet her friends, leaving Viktor in a light headed daze.

'Are you going to put those books back, young man?' demanded a harsh looking librarian who seemed to have appeared from nowhere.

'Yes, yes,' he said hurriedly.

Despite the beady glare from the librarian, however, he simply couldn't stop smiling as he thought about the girl he'd just met.

* * *

Viktor spent the rest of the day wandering around the Hogwarts grounds, noting how nice the place was. It just seemed so much more inviting than Durmstrang's castle, and Viktor couldn't help wondering what it'd be like to be a Hogwarts student instead.

He could spend every day with Hermione…

Feeling as though he was in danger of becoming just as much of a stalker as the girls who kept jumping out at him demanding autographs, Viktor attempted to push thoughts of Hermione from his mind by walking down to inspect the Quidditch pitch. It was, after all, ridiculous to feel such an attachment to someone he had said only a few words to.

The pitch was empty when he got there, which was how he always preferred it. There was something so relaxing about it, a trait that definitely wasn't there when it was packed full of yelling supporters. Once again, he found himself thinking about the inevitability of next year; signing a full time contract with the Vratsa Vultures and committing himself entirely to the sport. And as usual, butterflies took flight in his stomach as soon as he thought about this.

Stop it! he told himself, he'd have plenty of time to worry about that later. Right now he had bigger concerns.

* * *

Sure enough, by evening, thoughts of both Quidditch and Hermione were pushed from his mind and replaced by those concerning the Goblet of Fire.

Karkaroff had decided on another of his grand entrances, so all the Durmstrang students convened by the ship just before the feast was due to begin, ready to be led into the hall by their headmaster.

For once, it wasn't just Viktor who was silent. In fact, none of his classmates were saying much at all; all of their minds appeared completely occupied by thoughts of the upcoming selection. Viktor knew his was at least.

Whatever way he looked at it, he simply didn't want his name to emerge from the Goblet of Fire, and he was wishing now that he had been brave enough to refuse to enter himself in the first place.

It wasn't that he was scared of the tasks, but if he was chosen as school champion, then the attention he received from other students would quadruple overnight. The little privacy he had would vanish and he would no doubt find his photo plastered across the pages of every tabloid newspaper in Europe.

Not to mention the response he would receive from home. If he was chosen, his father would spend the rest of the year bragging about it to everyone he came across, all the while sending Viktor half-encouraging, half-threatening letters in order to ensure he was successful in the tournament. Of course if Viktor wasn't chosen as champion, then his father's reaction would be even worse.

'Are you ready, Viktor?' Karkaroff's booming voice knocked him from his thoughts.

'Yes, sir,' muttered Viktor.

'Come now, cheer up! You're about to be selected as the Durmstrang champion!'

Angry mutters broke out from a few of Viktor's fellow students at Karkaroff's assumption; Viktor didn't blame them and thought that he'd probably feel the same in their situation.

'Okay then, I think it is time to go in,' declared Karkaroff, addressing his students with a satisfied smile, 'Now, when our champion is announced, I want tremendous applause from all of you. I want Hogwarts and Beauxbatons to know we are a united school which is going to win this tournament!'

And with his usual flamboyance, Karkaroff turned on his heel and lead the way up to the castle.

This was going to be a long night, thought Viktor, as he trotted after his headmaster.

The occupants of the Great Hall cheered as the Durmstrang students entered and took their seats at the table that Viktor had now learnt was reserved for Slytherin house. He couldn't help but notice Hermione sitting at the table on the far side of the room. She was talking to the two boys she'd been with that morning, something which caused Viktor an unusual sensation that it took him a moment to realise was jealousy.

He didn't have long to brood, however, because soon Draco Malfoy was elbowing people out of the way and squeezing into a space on the bench opposite Viktor.

'Hello,' his usual drawling tone of voice sounded rather excited.

'Hi,' said Viktor dismissively, his eyes still on the other table.

Malfoy followed his gaze and misunderstood who he was looking at.

'Yeah, that's the famous Harry Potter,' he sneered, his expression unpleasant.

This distracted Viktor for a moment and he turned to Malfoy with raised eyebrows, 'Which one is Harry Potter?'

Malfoy gave him a rather despairing look and pointed to the skinny, dark haired boy that had been in the library earlier that morning. Viktor felt a sinking feeling in his stomach as he watched Harry Potter lean towards Hermione and say something that made her laugh. They looked like a couple, he thought bitterly.

Before he could stop himself, he turned back to Malfoy, 'Are those two together?'

'What Potter and Hermione Granger?'

Viktor nodded.

Malfoy smirked and shrugged his shoulders, 'Who knows? They're always together, but then Weasel is always with them as well. I don't know why he bothers, I wouldn't go near her myself, the filthy Mudblood.'

Now this was a different colloquialism to the ones used in Bulgaria, but Viktor got the gist of it pretty quickly. It took a lot of self-control not to curse Malfoy right there and then.

'What's wrong?' asked Malfoy, noticing Viktor's expression.

Viktor gave him a stony look, 'Don't you dare use that word in front of me if you plan on leaving this room in one piece.'

Malfoy looked rather taken aback at being threatened during a supposedly celebratory feast, but recovered himself quickly.

'I thought everyone in Durmstrang agreed that Mudbloods are scum? Karkaroff certainly does.'

'Maybe, but people whose grandfather was murdered by Grindelwald don't tend to think so.'

Malfoy flushed slightly and averted his eyes, evidently unsure what to say next. Viktor, meanwhile, was feeling better than he had done all afternoon. Setting little pure blood maniacs straight was always a fun activity.

Such was his preoccupation with what Malfoy had just said, Viktor didn't immediately notice when Dumbledore stood up and made his way over to the Goblet of Fire. But as soon as he did pay attention, his stomach dropped unpleasantly.

This was it. Please don't let it be me, he thought desperately.

The flames in the Goblet flickered red and shot sparks into the air.

Viktor's gaze found Hermione's.

A piece of paper shot out into Dumbledore's outstretched hand.

Hermione gave him a friendly wave.

Dumbledore unfurled the parchment.

Viktor was blocking everything out, except him and the girl he'd fallen for after one conversation.

Dumbledore was reading out a name.

'Viktor Krum!'

* * *

**Okay so this was supposed to just be a one shot about Viktor arriving at Hogwarts and meeting Hermione for the first time. However, I had some lovely reviews that have motivated me to turn it into a multi-chapter. So a big thanks to Wings of Tears, Smithback, Moreid4eva, Lymania, Woolums, Roseberrygirl and Charlenerennie7 :) **

**Oh, I've never actually written a Viktor/ Hermione story before, so you'll have to bear with me a bit. **

**Anyway, hope you liked the chapter. Please review and let me know what you thought :) **


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

It took Viktor a moment to come to his senses and realise that Dumbledore had called his name, that the whole room had exploded with applause and that Karkaroff was yelling loudly in jubilation.

Viktor tore his eyes away from Hermione, who was beaming at him, and got out of his seat, feeling strangely as though he wasn't in control of his own body. It was as if someone else was walking up to the staff table and heading through the side door; the noise and sensations just didn't seem real.

Viktor pushed through the door into the next room and collapsed against the wall, his breathing quick and shallow.

So that was it; he'd been chosen as champion. The next year would seem like a constant Quidditch World Cup, what with all the pressure and attention- but without the relief that came with flying.

For the second time in twenty four hours, Viktor thought about grabbing his broomstick and disappearing, but also for the second time, he realised just how unfeasible this was.

'Bonjour,' came a floaty voice, suddenly.

Viktor glanced up to see a Beauxbatons girl with a sheet of silver-blonde hair and piercing blue eyes staring at him excitedly.

'Salut,' he muttered, wondering how it would feel to be a normal person who was proud at having the chance to represent their school.

'Je m'appelle Fleur,' said the girl, evidently undeterred by Viktor's surly attitude.

Feeling he should at least be polite, Viktor forced a smile and extended his hand.

'I'm Viktor,' he said in English, having exhausted his feeble grasp of French already.

'Nice to meet you,' said Fleur, shooting him a blazing look through her thick eyelashes.

It was strange, thought Viktor, that if he had been talking with a girl of clear Veela heritage this time yesterday, he would have been slightly breathless. Yet now all he could think of was Hermione, a girl he had had one conversation with. He doubted anyone had fallen for someone so quickly.

The door connecting the side room with the Great Hall opened again, and a tall boy with dark hair and an excited grin, entered.

'Congratulations,' he smiled, shaking both Viktor and Fleur's hands, 'I'm Cedric.'

Fleur's attention was caught immediately by the new arrival, and she struck up a conversation with him straight away, leaving Viktor to mull over the events of the past five minutes.

He was officially the Durmstrang champion and there was no backing out now. His father had probably already found out somehow (no doubt he had some kind of hotline to the Goblet) and would be drafting a letter right this minute. Karkaroff had probably already sent messages to everyone back at school as well.

Viktor's musings were interrupted, however, by the arrival of a fourth person. And not just anyone- it was Harry Potter, boy wonder and apparent close friend of Hermione's.

He didn't look particularly impressive at that moment, Viktor thought smugly, watching the younger boy who looked to be in a state of shock. He wondered what he was doing there, perhaps delivering a message, although he'd yet to actually say anything.

Before Viktor could really ponder as to what Potter was doing there, however, the door burst open and an incredibly excited looking Ludo Bagman jumped into the room.

He bounded over to Potter, placed his hands on his shoulders in a fatherly way and announced, 'Ladies and Gentlemen, may I present the fourth champion.'

And that was the point when Viktor felt as though he was ready to kill someone.

Karkaroff shared Viktor's sentiment, and the following morning found the Durmstrang headmaster writing furious letters to anyone he could think of complaining to. The rest of the students on the ship were also outraged, and unsurprisingly this was channelled at Viktor, as though he had somehow plotted Durmstrang and Beauxbatons' disadvantage.

Viktor himself was also incredibly annoyed about Harry Potter being named champion, although not for the same reasons.

Although he hadn't realised it at the time, perhaps the one silver lining of Viktor being selected as Durmstrang champion was that it might prove useful in helping him get to know Hermione. But now Harry bloody Potter was a champion as well, and would no doubt completely distract her away from Viktor.

Life was unfair, he thought bitterly, as he strode away from the ship and headed into the castle for breakfast.

'Viktor!'

Viktor turned to see Cedric Diggory jogging up towards him.

'Hello,' said Viktor, attempting a smile despite his mood, since Cedric seemed like a decent person.

'Been for a walk,' grinned Cedric, for way of an explanation as to being outside at half seven in the morning, 'Needed a bit of fresh air after last night.'

'I know what you mean,' muttered Viktor.

'Harry being chosen was a bit of a shock wasn't it?' said Cedric briskly, 'I'd love to know how he managed it.'

Viktor shrugged; he neither knew nor cared how Potter had been chosen as a fourth champion. In fact, if Hermione hadn't been in the equation then he'd probably find the whole situation- especially Karkaroff's rage- hilarious. But she was, so he didn't.

'Any idea what the first task will be?' asked Cedric, his voice full of anticipation.

'No idea,' answered Viktor truthfully, 'my father will be doing his best to find out though.'

Cedric rolled his eyes, 'Tell me about it. I got a letter from my dad this morning, he's more excited about it than me.'

Viktor's stomach squirmed at the mention of a letter from a father. His dad hadn't written anything yet, but Viktor knew it was only a matter of time before he received a novel length letter warning him to win the tournament, or else.

That was something to look forward to.

'Are you going into breakfast?' asked Cedric, as the two of them began to walk up to the castle.

That had been Viktor's original plan, but the thought of going into the hall where so many people would be staring at him, made him feel slightly sick.

'No,' he said, 'I think I'm going to the library to get some work.'

'Okay,' replied Cedric, giving him an odd look, but saying a pleasant goodbye when they reached the Entrance Hall all the same.

While Cedric headed into the Great Hall, and was immediately surrounded by a group of adoring girls, Viktor walked straight past the dining room and went up the main staircase instead.

He remembered the way to the library, and arrived there after five minutes, without having to ask directions from ghosts this time. As soon as he walked into the room, he felt a wave of relaxation wash over him. The library was completely empty, and he was free to pick up a book and hide himself away in a corner. Even if Hermione didn't turn up, this was still better than facing everyone, thought Viktor, as he pursued a book on house elves- he was determined to be knowledgeable about the subject.

A good hour passed with no one else entering the library, although that was hardly surprising since it was barely half eight in the morning. Just as Viktor was giving up hope that Hermione would appear, however, the door swung open and there she was.

It only took him a moment to realise how distressed she was. Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes seemed a bit too bright, and her hair was slightly dishevelled as though she'd been running her hands through it. Viktor had a sudden image of doing the same thing himself.

Noticing him, she walked straight over to his table and threw herself into a seat opposite him.

'Hello-' he began, but she cut him off.

'What did the judges decide about Harry?' she demanded straight away.

Viktor stomach sunk unpleasantly; she only wanted to talk about Harry, she wasn't interested in him in the slightest.

'Haven't you seen him?' he asked, his voice sounding icier than he intended it to.

She looked rather taken aback by his tone but pressed on regardless, 'I've not seen him this morning, yet, and our friend Ron is refusing to talk about it. Are they letting him compete?'

'I think so; the judges said it was a binding magical contract.'

Hermione threw her head back and shouted out in rage, 'But he didn't enter his name! Surely they can't force him to go through with it?!'

Viktor shrugged, not particularly wanting to discuss Harry Potter and the mystery that was currently surrounding him.

'I mean, it's different for you,' she continued, as though he hadn't just ignored her, 'you chose to enter your name, you wanted to be champion.'

'I wouldn't bet on it,' muttered Viktor under his breath.

Hermione broke off her rant and stared at him, her deep brown eyes running over his face. He thought he could see concern there, and perhaps something that looked like worry. But then he looked again, and she'd smoothed her face into a neutral expression; he'd probably just imagined it.

After a few moments of silence, Hermione jumped out of her seat and headed over to the book shelves, returning a minute later with a heavy volume entitled _A Complete History of the Triwizard Tournament. _

'I came here to find out as much as I can about the stupid tournament,' she muttered, more to herself than to Viktor.

Viktor looked down at the book on house elves that he had been reading in order to strike up a conversation with her; she hadn't so much as glanced at it.

The two of them were silent for a while, as Hermione read and Viktor thought about how horrific the year was going to be. The melancholy mood was only interrupted by the arrival of a stocky Durmstrang student who Viktor thought was called Poliakoff.

'Karkaroff told me to find you and give you this,' Poliakoff said shortly, handing Viktor a sealed envelope and giving Hermione an apprehensive look.

'Thank you,' snapped Viktor, sensing another Draco Malfoy style ideology in his midst.

Poliakoff glared at him once more and hurried out of the library, no doubt worried he'd actually be forced to read a book if he stayed there for more than a few minutes.

'Do you two not get on?' asked Hermione softly, her eyes scanning Viktor's expression again.

'No,' said Viktor simply, as he turned the letter over and recognised his father's handwriting with an unpleasant thud in his chest.

He took a deep breath and ripped open the seal to reveal an unsurprisingly thick piece of parchment. Taking another gulp of air, and aware of Hermione watching him, Viktor began to read.

_Viktor, _

_A contact of mine has informed me that last night you were selected to be the Durmstrang champion of the Triwizard Tournament. Why you did not inform me of this news yourself is beyond me, and I trust you to send me letters following every task. _

_I am very pleased that you have been chosen, and I cannot impress enough the importance of victory. This is, after all, the first tournament in centuries, and needless to say, your career potential would soar if you emerged as the winner. On that note, I had a late night meeting with the editor of _The Bulgarian Chronicle, _and have arranged for you to do a series of detailed interviews with them._

_Once again, Viktor, I trust you to win this tournament, and if not I will be sorely disappointed._

_Your father, _

_Ivan Krum. _

Viktor was quiet for a moment as he reread the letter, as though hoping to find some words of fatherly comfort the second time round. He was disappointed, however. The words were cold and pressurising no matter how many times they were read; win the Triwizard Tournament, or else.

'Are you okay?' asked a quiet voice.

Viktor jumped slightly, having completely forgotten Hermione's presence. Unsure exactly how to respond- mainly because he had no idea if he was alright- Viktor shrugged and stared down at his hands.

'I'm sure you'll do well in the tasks,' she persisted.

'It's not the tasks I'm worried about,' he muttered, after a while of depressing silence.

'Well what are you worried about then?'

'I don't know,' replied Viktor truthfully, 'The pressure, I suppose, and the attention I'll get.'

'But you're a Quidditch player,' frowned Hermione, 'Surely you're used to being recognised wherever you go?'

Viktor shook his head and looked down at his hands again, which were resting on the house elf book. To his immense surprise, a smaller hand suddenly covered his.

The feeling of their skin touching almost drove Viktor to distraction. In the most clichéd way possible, it was as if a thousand sparks had suddenly gone off, as if someone had lit a vast display of fireworks.

'You know you can talk to me if you want,' offered Hermione, her hand still on top of Viktor's.

He wasn't sure what to say to that, although a million suggestions ran through his head. He could ask her out there and then, maybe to the local village of Hogsmede. Or he could tell her all about his father, and Karkaroff, and the Vratsa Vultures.

Whilst he was still making up his mind, however, Hermione suddenly removed her hand and glanced at her wrist watch.

'I'd better go,' she exclaimed, 'I need to talk to Harry as soon as he gets up.'

And with that, she hurried out of the library, leaving Viktor in a shell shocked state that had somehow made him feel better and worse about upcoming events simultaneously.

* * *

**Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed the chapter! **

**Oh, I just have a couple of things to say in response to reviews: Firstly, I realise that in the book Viktor didn't pluck up the courage to speak to Hermione for ages. I, however, wanted to kick start their romance a little earlier, hope you don't mind ;) I also know that, in the book, Viktor speaks with a strong Bulgarian accent. I just thought this would get annoying after a while though.**

**Anyway, please keep reviewing- constructive criticism is always welcome, as is praise if you're feeling nice ;) **


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

A few days had passed since the selection of the tournament champions, during which Viktor's worst fears were confirmed- in a way that was one hundred times worse than he'd imagined.

Hogwarts suddenly appeared to contain millions of girls, all of whom seemed to consider it time wasted if they didn't spend every waking moment stalking Viktor. There were mini stampedes to get seats near him at meal times, girls would badger him to sign various parts of their anatomies, and, on more than one occasion, stowaways were discovered aboard the Durmstrang ship.

Viktor thought he could have handled this, if only he had someone to talk to- namely a certain Hogwarts student whom he hadn't spoken to since she'd held his hand the morning after he'd been chosen as the Durmstrang champion.

Viktor took refuge in the library at break times and in the evenings, but he'd yet to meet Hermione in there. It wasn't that he hadn't seen her; plenty of times she'd waved pleasantly at him as she strolled down corridors with Harry Potter. She just seemed to have better things to do than spend all her time in the library with a reclusive foreign student.

It was this that Viktor was thinking about as he sat at the back of a particularly difficult Transfiguration lesson, the first Friday after the selection of the candidates. He'd chosen a seat at the back thinking it would make it harder for his fellow students to stare at him. Viktor had been prepared to sit alone as he usually did, but to his surprise, as the Hogwarts students walked into the classroom, Cedric Diggory left his friends and came to sit with Viktor.

'Good choice of seat,' muttered Cedric, sitting down at Viktor's table and ignoring the stares of half a dozen girls.

Viktor didn't mind Cedric sitting with him; on the contrary it would be nice not to spend the entire lesson alone. But he found it slightly odd that the Hogwarts champion seemed to have taken such a liking to him- they were supposed to be rivals after all. Viktor could only suppose that Cedric had gotten a taste of what it was like to have a fan club in recent days and now suddenly felt sympathetic towards Viktor.

As Cedric began taking books out of his bag, however, Viktor spotted an opportunity and seized it.

'So, what do you think about Potter being the fourth champion?' he asked in as casual voice as he could muster.

Cedric frowned for a moment and then shrugged, 'If he managed to get past the age line and trick the goblet, then fair play to him; he probably deserves it more than either of us.'

Secretly, Viktor shared a similar view. However, he simply couldn't bring himself to praise the boy who seemed to spend every waking moment with Hermione Granger.

'I suppose his friends must be supporting him,' pressed Viktor, hoping Cedric would mention Hermione so he didn't have to.

'I wouldn't be so sure about that,' said Cedric, a slight smirk playing on his face, 'Apparently his best friend is refusing to talk to him. And have you seen those badges?'

Viktor thought of the Potter Stinks badges that were currently incredibly popular amongst disgruntled Hogwarts students; he'd been sorely tempted to get one himself after he'd happened to have seen Potter and Hermione walking through the grounds together.

'Are Potter and Hermione Granger a couple?' blurted out Viktor, having decided that skirting around what he really wanted to talk about was no use.

'No, I think they're just friends,' laughed Cedric, 'Why? Which one of them are you interested in?'

Viktor scowled at him but was prevented from saying anything else by the arrival of a timid looking Hogwarts student.

'Professor McGonagall, I've got to take Cedric Diggory and Viktor Krum upstairs. All the champions need their wands checked.'

McGonagall nodded and indicated that Viktor and Cedric should leave. Feeling a familiar sense of dread build up inside him, Viktor picked up his bag and reluctantly headed out of the door.

He and Cedric walked in silence, with the latter whistling to himself as though he didn't have a care in the world; for some reason this irritated Viktor.

They were led into a large room containing Ludo Bagman, an impatient looking Fleur Delacour and two people who looked like members of the press.

As soon as they entered, Fleur bounded over to them and engaged Cedric in conversation, leaving Viktor to take a seat and attempt to avoid everyone's eye.

They were there for perhaps five minutes, when the door opened and a rather flustered looking Harry Potter appeared. The woman whom Viktor had deduced must be a reporter, leapt out of her seat immediately and raced over to the new arrival. Viktor watched them for a moment as the woman led Potter out of the door, her hand firmly gripping his shoulder.

Despite himself, Viktor felt a wave of sympathy for Potter. How old must he be? He looked fourteen, or fifteen at the most. At least Viktor hadn't started being hounded by the press until he was seventeen.

That feeling intensified as time passed and Potter and the reporter still didn't return. Viktor had a flashback to a particularly horrible interview, during which a reporter barricaded his office door shut in order to grill Viktor on a rumoured romance; Viktor had managed to escape after three hours by pulling out his wand and employing some carefully worded threats. He had no desire to repeat such an experience and pitied anyone who underwent anything similar.

Over the next few minutes, Karkaroff, Madame Maxime and Mr Crouch all arrived, each of them looking rather put out by something. Viktor could only suppose that Karkaroff and the Beauxbatons headmistress were still furious about Potter being chosen, but he couldn't fathom as to why Crouch looked so strained.

Upon noticing his prized student, Karkaroff smiled indulgently and headed over to speak to Viktor.

Thankfully Viktor was saved from having to talk to his headmaster by the arrival of two more men. One was the Hogwarts headmaster, Dumbledore, and he was accompanied by an ancient looking, white haired man whom Viktor had never seen before.

'Good afternoon, champions. May I introduce our wand specialist, Mr Ollivander,' announced Dumbledore grandly.

Dumbledore's eyes darted around the room and sharpened suddenly.

'Where is Harry Potter?' he asked of Ludo Bagman.

'Oh just having a little warm up interview with Rita Skeeter,' smiled Bagman genially, 'Should be back in no time.'

But Dumbledore had turned on his heel and disappeared out of the door without another word. He returned a few moments later, accompanied by a terrified looking Potter, and a smug looking Rita Skeeter. Viktor had seen that look in journalists before; it meant one hell of an article was about to be published.

One by one, Ollivander inspected each of the champions' wands, twirling them in his hands and casting small spells. He certainly took his time with Potter's wand, which gave Viktor the chance to appraise the younger wizard. He looked rather shell shocked by the whole thing, mused Viktor, as Potter stood waiting for his wand to be returned.

Just then, Ollivander handed back the wand and retreated into the corner of the room. Viktor stood up, thinking it would be early enough for him to have a quick dinner before the Great Hall filled up with students. However, his hopes of avoiding everyone and heading to the library for the evening were dashed by Bagman shouting excitedly about photographs.

The photographer leapt from his seat and began grouping the champions and judges together, all the while ensuring that Fleur remained at the front.

'Now, let's have the youngest in view,' insisted Rita Skeeter, pulling Potter into the middle of the group.

Meanwhile, Karkaroff preened his ridiculous goatee, Cedric kept flashing the lop sided grin that seemed to make all girls go weak at the knees, Crouch frowned at the camera, Dumbledore smiled politely, Fleur shook her hair over her shoulders, and Bagman somehow managed to show all of his pearly teeth at once.

Viktor, however, stood at the back, realising he was largely obscured by Madame Maxime's shadow but not caring in the slightest.

A few minutes later the ordeal was finally over and they were free to leave. Viktor briefly nodded at Cedric, and then hurried through the door before Karkaroff could insist on accompanying him to dinner.

After a while of wandering down endless corridors which all looked the same, however, Viktor realised that he was lost. He'd never been in that upstairs room before, and had therefore lost his sense of direction. He had no idea which wing of the castle he was in, or even which floor he was on.

After a few more minutes, however, he heard voices coming from his left. He followed the sound, resigning himself to having to ask for directions, and found himself outside a large oak door. The voices were coming from beyond the door and judging by what was being said, he'd stumbled upon the hospital wing.

Viktor was about to reach forward to open the door, when someone from inside pushed it open.

And that person turned out to be none other than Hermione Granger.

She jumped slightly when she saw him, 'Oh hello. What are you doing here?'

'I got lost,' mumbled Viktor, feeling both pathetic and like a stalker simultaneously.

Her expression brightened and that was when Viktor noticed there was something slightly different about her smile, although he couldn't pinpoint what the change was.

'Do you want me to show you to the Great Hall?' she asked pleasantly.

'Please,' said Viktor, and then began walking slowly down the corridor. Suddenly a thought hit him, 'What were you doing here?'

Even in the dimly lit corridors, he could tell that she was blushing slightly, 'Oh there was an accident before Potions.'

Viktor raised his eyebrows, 'An accident?' A lot of 'accidents' tended to happen at Durmstrang.

Hermione sighed, 'Well, if you must know, I got hit by a jinx that was meant for Harry. It made my teeth grow erm quite large.'

She glanced up at him, as if expecting him to laugh, which he didn't.

'Who cast the jinx?' he asked stonily.

'Draco Malfoy,' she muttered through gritted teeth.

Viktor's own jaw clamped shut upon hearing that name. He remembered what Malfoy had called Hermione the night the champions were chosen: a filthy Mudblood if he remembered correctly.

'Don't worry,' said Hermione quietly, 'Everyone knows he's an idiot. I actually punched him myself last year.'

Viktor couldn't help but smile at this, although he was still fighting the urge to burst into the Great Hall and challenge Malfoy to a duel.

They walked in silence for a moment, with Viktor desperately searching for something to say. He'd had so little experience with these situations that his mind had just clamped up. In the end, he settled for honesty.

'I haven't seen you in the library for a while,' he admitted.

Hermione smiled to herself slightly, 'No, I suppose you haven't. The past few days have been pretty dramatic, what with Harry being chosen as champion.'

Viktor ignored the reference to Potter and pressed on, 'I would like to see you again.'

Hermione stopped in her tracks and turned round to face Viktor, 'Really?'

Viktor looked at her expression, which suggested she thought he was playing some kind of joke on her.

'Yes,' he said simply.

She stared back at him for a moment and then smiled, 'you really don't have a way with words, do you?'

'It's not my strong point,' admitted Viktor.

Hermione frowned, 'I would have thought you'd be the opposite. I mean, aren't you used to people being all over you? You are an international Quidditch player, after all.'

Viktor shrugged; this was a question he'd often asked himself, and one for which he'd never found the appropriate answer.

Hermione didn't press the point however. Instead, she beamed at him, 'Well I'd like to see you again as well. You intrigue me, Viktor Krum.'

Viktor raised his eyebrows again, feeling slightly surprised, 'I intrigue you?'

'Yes. You turn up here and get everyone's attention. But then you spend all your time in the library, reading about house elves-'

'You noticed that?' interrupted Viktor.

'Yes,' she smiled, continuing with what she'd been saying, 'and now that you've been chosen as champion, it seems as those you'd rather be anywhere else than here.'

Viktor stared at her in amazement; he'd never encountered anyone so perceptive before. She'd seen right through him, beyond the Quidditch player façade, and realised who he really was.

Now he really was stuck for words.

And so, because he was surly and taciturn, quiet and reclusive, he didn't say anything.

Instead, he kissed her.

* * *

**So he kissed her! I realise their romance seems to be moving on quite quickly, but I promise plenty of speed bumps along the way. **

**Anyway, as usual, thanks for reading and I hope you liked this chapter. The next one will feature a sort of 'date' and some trouble between Viktor and other Durmstrang students. **

**Please review and let me know what you think J **


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

It was like nothing Viktor had ever experienced.

The world seemed to blur out around him as he leaned in to kiss Hermione. And amazingly, miraculously, she did not push him away but kissed him back.

It was tentative and sweet rather than passionate and all-consuming, but it was the best few moments of his life.

They simultaneously pulled apart after a minute or so, and stared at one another. Hermione was looking as though she couldn't quite understand what had just happened. Viktor knew how she felt- he was in a slight daze himself.

'Wow,' said Hermione after a moment, her voice sounding as though her breath was caught.

Viktor himself couldn't string a coherent sentence together; evidently kissing did nothing to help his reserved nature.

'What was that for?' she asked, her face still full of shock.

'I didn't know what else to do,' mumbled Viktor.

Suddenly a smile broke across Hermione's face and she began laughing. Before he knew it, Viktor had joined in and they were grinning at each other as if they'd know one another for years. Viktor couldn't remember the last time he'd felt this carefree.

'It's not every day that an international Quidditch player kisses me,' reasoned Hermione, shaking her head at him but smiling all the same.

'Well it's not every day that I kiss beautiful foreign girls,' conceded Viktor.

'I'll take that as a compliment.'

'Good, it was intended as one.'

They stood there smiling at each other, and Viktor felt an amazing sense of calm wash over him, as though all his worries about the Tournament and the Vratsa Vultures had disappeared. With this feeling came a new sense of recklessness that he was quick to exploit.

'Can I see you again'?' he blurted out before he could stop himself.

'Outside of the library?' asked Hermione, her eyebrows raised in an amused expression.

'Yeah,' smiled Viktor.

He immediately began thinking about what they could do. He'd heard people mention that students were allowed out to Hogsmede some weekends, but he didn't think that was planned for anytime soon. He'd have to arrange something good, he thought, although he couldn't think what.

'I think this might wreck the moment, but do you fancy going into dinner? I'm hungry,' said Hermione, looking apologetic.

To Viktor's surprise, he realised that he didn't mind going into the inevitably packed Great Hall at all. In fact, he found the idea of having dinner with Hermione rather appealing.

'That would be great,' smiled Viktor.

Hermione beamed at him and began leading the way down the corridor. After a few moments of walking side by side in silence, Viktor reached out and lightly entwined his fingers with hers; their hands seemed to fit one another's perfectly.

They reached the Entrance Hall after five minutes or so, and Viktor could tell by the noise that it was full of students. He felt his chest constrict, but it seemed less severe than usual, as though the presence of Hermione was easing his nerves somewhat.

Predictably, as soon as Viktor entered the Great Hall, dozens of heads turned to face him. This time, however, Viktor could hear whispers as well, as he took a seat with a blushing Hermione at the end of the Gryffindor table. Even her fellow housemates turned to stare at them; Viktor noticed two identical ginger boys looking so shocked it was as if Voldermort himself had walked in the room.

'You were right about getting attention,' muttered Hermione, her cheeks flushed as she helped herself to lasagne.

'Tell me about it,' agreed Viktor, as he filled his own plate. However, he found that the attention didn't seem to bother him so much at the moment.

He did start to worry, however, as the conversation quickly dried up between them, something which wasn't helped by the fact that Hermione was clearly uncomfortable with the amount of people looking at her. Viktor noticed she kept glancing at her tall, ginger friend, who was sitting halfway down the table and kept missing his mouth as he gawked at Hermione and Viktor.

Viktor's mind furiously searched for something to say, and just as he was about to ask her about her family, someone took a seat next to Hermione.

It was Harry Potter.

'Hi,' he muttered gloomily to Hermione, before glancing up and noticing Viktor.

'Hello,' said Viktor in what he hoped was a polite sounding voice.

'Erm hi,' said Harry, shooting a bewildered look at Hermione, who quickly busied herself with her dinner so she didn't have to explain anything.

Harry's eyes flickered between Hermione and Viktor, but he clearly didn't dare say anything. Instead, he pilled food onto his plate and began eating at such a rapid pace that it was obvious he wanted to get away from them as quickly as possible.

Viktor put down his cutlery and noticed that Hermione had already done the same.

'Want to get out of here?'

'Yes please,' she said quickly, standing up and saying a brief goodbye to Harry.

Dozens more heads turned to stare at them as they crossed the Great Hall, and it was only when they were in the Entrance Hall that Hermione appeared to breathe again.

'Sorry about that,' muttered Viktor, feeling somewhat awkward all of a sudden.

'How do you cope with so many people watching you all the time?' she asked in an incredulous voice.

'I don't really,' admitted Viktor.

Hermione gave him a sympathetic look, 'I should get back to the common room, I need to do a Potions essay.'

'Okay,' said Viktor, feeling slightly disappointed, 'I'll see you tomorrow?'

'Tomorrow?' she repeated raising her eyebrows.

'We did arrange to meet up again,' Viktor reminded her.

'Yes we did,' smiled Hermione.

'Okay, so meet me here this time tomorrow evening,' said Viktor, although he still had no idea as to what they could do.

'Very intriguing,' grinned Hermione, making to go up the staircase, 'Until then.'

She waved at him and disappeared upstairs, leaving Viktor standing there with an irrepressible grin on his face.

Once she'd gone, he turned towards the castle doors and strolled outside, his hands in his pockets and feeling better than he had done in months. He actually whistled to himself, as he walked down the steep bank towards the Durmstrang ship. _Whistling! _That was normal reserved for happy people!

When Viktor reached the ship, which was gently bobbing in the lake, the silence told him it was empty; no doubt the rest of his classmates were still up at the castle eating dinner and discussing the development of seeing Viktor with an unknown Hogwarts girl.

Enjoying the absence of the others, Viktor headed down the ship's corridor and went his cabin. As usual, it was littered with playing cards and bottles of vodka; his roommates were continuing to take advantage of Karkaroff being distracted with the Tournament, by spending every night playing poker and doing shots.

Tonight, however, Viktor didn't care that he had to navigate a mass of glass bottles in order to cross the room. Instead, he threw himself down onto his bed and let his thoughts trail back to Hermione.

That kiss had been amazing, no question about it. Now he had to follow it up by planning something interesting and romantic for them to do tomorrow. If only they were allowed outside of the castle grounds…

Viktor must have been laying there thinking for about half an hour, when the cabin door was roughly barged open by Poliakoff and another one of the Durmstrang students whose name Viktor didn't know.

'Evening, Krum,' smirked Poliakoff.

Viktor nodded at them, wondering why they were gracing him with conversation for once.

'We saw you at dinner,' drawled Poliakoff, smirking at his companion, 'With your Mudblood girlfriend.'

Viktor had jumped off his bed and launched himself at Poliakoff before the latter had time to register what was happening. They both fell to the floor, with a resounding crash that shook the entire boat. Poliakoff reached for his wand, but Viktor knocked his hand out of the way, and went to draw his own.

He did not have the chance to either punch or curse Poliakoff, however, because the cabin door burst open and Karkaroff appeared on the threshold. The headmaster took in the sight of his favourite student wrestling another pupil to the ground, with a look of disbelief on his face.

'Stop it this instant!' he bellowed, causing Poliakoff's friend to back away warily, and Viktor to pick himself up from the floor. Poliakoff shakily got to his feet, looking as though he couldn't quite belief what had just happened.

'What is the meaning of this?' yelled Karkaroff, his rage directed mostly at Poliakoff, who was scowling sullenly.

Even though Viktor despised Poliakoff at that moment, he still couldn't stop himself from doing what he did next.

'I'm sorry, sir,' sighed Viktor taking a step forwards so that Karkaroff turned to face him, 'It was my fault, I started it.'

Karkaroff blinked in disbelief and then, just as Viktor was wondering what punishment he had in store, a huge grin broke across the headmaster's face.

'Brilliant, Viktor. Standing up for yourself, I see. Getting in training for the Tournament.'

Viktor could hardly believe his ears. He had just admitted to attacking a fellow student, and Karkaroff was praising him; he'd always known that his headmaster was a little warped, but he didn't realise just how messed up his ideas were.

'As for you, Poliakoff,' Karkaroff turned on the other boy with a look of pure loathing, 'How dare you get into a fight with the school champion. Do you realise that if Viktor is injured then we will have no chance of winning?'

His eyes bulged out of their sockets as he spoke, making him look rather deranged. Viktor could only assume that the drama of the past few days had finally pushed him over the edge.

'Yes, sir,' muttered Poliakoff, looking down at the floor.

'Good, now get out!' shouted Karkaroff.

Poliakoff immediately shuffled out of the room, followed quickly by his friend. Once they'd gone, Karkaroff straightened up and turned back to Viktor, 'Let me know if there is any more trouble.'

And with that, he also left, leaving Viktor to collapse back onto his bed and think that was definitely going to be a lot more trouble now.

* * *

The following morning, Viktor awoke to find the cabin empty. He supposed Poliakoff was sleeping elsewhere and that he'd warned the others not to go near the unhinged Viktor Krum. The fact that he at last had some privacy warmed Viktor's mood slightly, especially when he remembered with a jolt that he was due to meet Hermione that very evening.

Thinking about the kiss they'd shared the night before, Viktor got up and quickly got dressed.

Now he just had to find some way to pass the hours until they were due to meet again.

Viktor solved that problem instantly, as he reached under his bed and pulled out his Firebolt, the best broom in the world and something of a prized possession to Viktor.

Not wanting to alert anyone to his presence and cause any more fights, Viktor crept lightly along the corridor and climbed off the Durmstrang ship. Swinging his broomstick over his shoulder, he set off towards the Hogwarts Quidditch pitch.

To his relief, the stadium was entirely empty, so Viktor wasted no time in swinging his leg over the Firebolt and taking off. As usual, it was as if all his worries and concerns had been left on the ground. This was what flying should be about, thought Viktor as he climbed higher and higher, feeling the crisp morning air on his face. It shouldn't be about pressurising fathers, excessive salaries and crowds baying for blood.

He did a few laps of the pitch, making sure he went quicker and quicker each time. Then he swerved through the stands and hoops, before going into a tremendous dive from at least fifty feet in the air.

After an hour or so of flying, Viktor reluctantly touched back down on the ground. The rest of the students would be out and about soon, and the last thing he wanted was a crowd gathering to watch him fly- he might as well be back at the Vultures stadium.

Viktor spent the remainder of the day in a restless state which was very unusual for him. He strolled round the grounds, visited the library for a couple of hours and explored the rest of the castle, all the while waiting for evening to come.

* * *

At seven o clock, he stood in the Entrance Hall, nervously waiting to see if Hermione would turn up.

'Hello,' drawled a familiar voice.

Viktor turned round to see Draco Malfoy standing before him looking his usual unpleasant self.

'Can I help you?' asked Viktor coldly.

'No, no,' said Malfoy, smirking somewhat, 'Waiting for someone?' His eyes flickered up to the empty staircase.

'Yes,' replied Viktor monosyllabically. After what Hermione had told him, it was taking all his self-control not to start his second fight in twenty four hours.

'Oh, well, see you then,' muttered Malfoy, stalking off into the Great Hall, but not before he glanced up at the staircase again.

Viktor stood alone for another ten minutes or so when someone skipped down the stairs and came over to him.

'Hello,' beamed Hermione.

'Hi,' smiled Viktor, noticing just how amazing she looked. For the first time since he'd met her, she didn't have an enormous book bag slung over her shoulder, and the absence of it gave her incredible posture. She also seemed to have done something with her hair, for it was sleeker than usual. What really drew Viktor in, however, were her deep brown eyes; he could quite happily stare at them for hours.

'What are we doing then?' asked Hermione brightly, interrupting Viktor's trail of thought.

'Follow me,' he said in what he hoped was a mysterious kind of voice.

He led the way out of the castle down into the grounds, which were now cloaked in darkness.

'Where are we going?' laughed Hermione, as he led them round the lake.

Viktor looked up at the sky and realised he'd found the spot. He took off his cloak and laid it on the ground.

'We're sitting here.'

Hermione raised her eyebrows at him, 'Why here?'

Viktor didn't answer. Instead he sat down and waited for Hermione to do the same. When she did, she got her answer to the question.

During Viktor's explorations earlier that day, he'd discovered an unexpected side effect of being virtually friendless- this spot by the lake. From this specific place, it was possible to see the brightest of the stars twinkling through a gap in the hills and mountains. Their position also let them see Hogwarts in all of its candle lit glory, all the while being basked in the silver moonlight which reflected off the rippling lake.

'This is amazing,' breathed Hermione, looking up at the sky, 'I never noticed this before.'

Viktor watched her for a moment, taking in just how pretty she looked. He took her hand in his and they sat in silence for a while, looking at the stars.

'This is a good first date,' she commented after a while.

Viktor found himself smiling, 'This is a first date?'

She shrugged, 'I think so.'

'Me too.'

With that, he leaned forward and kissed her again- and this time it was anything but tentative.

* * *

'Morning, Krum!'

Viktor awoke with a start the following morning as some one shouted in his ear. He had been reliving his date with Hermione, and was not pleased to be interrupted. To make matters worse, it was Poliakoff standing over him bed, wearing a truly evil smirk.

Viktor swore at him but this only served to increase Poliakoff's taunting expression.

'Did you have a nice night with your girlfriend?' he laughed.

Viktor ignored him, wondering what the hell he wanted.

Without warning, Poliakoff threw something at him. Instinctively, Viktor lunged for his wand, but as he looked down he realised it was only a newspaper.

'Why would I want this?' he spat.

'Oh there's an article in there that you might find interesting,' smirked Poliakoff, walking out of the cabin.

Viktor picked up the paper and was immediately confronted by a large picture of Harry Potter, accompanied by a title about the Triwizard Tournament. Viktor couldn't suppose what Poliakoff had found so amusing, but he scanned the article nevertheless.

He was almost at the end when he read something which made his stomach turn over so quickly he felt he was going to be sick.

_'Harry has at last found love at Hogwarts. His close friend, Colin Creevey, says that Harry is rarely seen out of the company of one Hermione Granger, a stunningly pretty Muggle-born girl who, like Harry, is one of the top students in the school.'_

* * *

**Thanks for reading! I hope their date wasn't ****_too _****cheesy- I'm not great at writing fluff. **

**Oh and of course the newspaper extract is from Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire and not my own writing. **

**Leave me a review and let me know what you think J **


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

_'Harry Potter has at last found love at Hogwarts.'_

Viktor read the article four times, hoping each time that the words would somehow alter before his eyes. But they stayed the same; Hermione was apparently in some kind of romantic entanglement with Harry Potter.

Viktor thought back to the previous evening when they'd kissed beside the lake and felt an odd tug in his chest that was rather painful. He'd thought last night had been real, he'd never felt anything like that before.

Yet here it was in black and white- something was going on between Hermione and Potter. Viktor usually took everything he read in the press with a pinch of salt, but this time he had seen their closeness with his own eyes. One of Potter's friends even confirmed the relationship in the article, for God's sake!

Viktor sat on his bed, mulling over this for a while before realising that there was only one sensible thing to do at that moment: go and ask Hermione about it in person.

He jumped off his bed quickly and knocked the newspaper to the floor in disgust. He threw open the cabin door and hurried down the corridor before any other Durmstrang student had the chance to say anything to him. No doubt they had all read the article and were laughing about him to one another, thought Viktor darkly.

The morning air was crisp and Viktor bitterly wished he had a cloak with him, but he didn't turn back. It was warmer here than it ever was at home anyway, he could cope.

The Entrance Hall was full of students milling around, going in and out of breakfast. Viktor scanned the many unfamiliar faces but didn't notice Hermione amongst them. He looked in vain for Potter as well but thought it best that he didn't actually spot him; attacking the beloved Boy Who Lived wouldn't do him any favours.

After a few minutes of standing in the Entrance Hall and scanning faces, Viktor realised it was more than a little pointless. Hermione had clearly already been to breakfast or wasn't up yet. Furthermore, he was starting to attract some attention from the Hogwarts students; Draco Malfoy had spotted him and was heading in Viktor's direction.

Not trusting himself to speak to Malfoy and hold his temper considering the bad mood he was in, Viktor pushed through a group of students and half-sprinted up the main staircase.

He traced the now familiar route towards the library, feeling increasingly glum with each step. Even if Hermione was in the library, what on earth was he going to say to her? They'd not defined their relationship in any way, so did he even have the right to be annoyed if she was with Potter?

Girls were too complicated, fumed Viktor, as he walked into the library.

_There she was!_

Viktor stood awkwardly in the doorway, as he watched Hermione. She was sitting at a nearby table, her head in a thick, leather bound book and a grumpy expression on her face. Despite this, however, she still managed to look amazing in Viktor's eyes. There was just something about her, even when she was slumped over textbooks in the school library.

Taking a deep breath and reminding himself that this couldn't be as bad as going out into the Vultures stadium at the start of a match, Viktor approached her table.

'Hello,' he said as a way of announcing his presence.

Hermione looked up from her book and surveyed him with surprise, 'Oh, hello Viktor.'

A slight blush crept across her cheeks and Viktor wondered if she was reliving the events of the previous evening just as he was. The lake, the stars, the kiss.

'What's wrong?' she asked.

'Oh,' began Viktor, realising how stupid he must look just standing there, 'I wanted to ask you something.'

'Yes?'

Should he bring up the article? Now that he was face to face with her, Viktor wasn't quite so sure as he'd been earlier. It wouldn't be the first time the press had made a mistake over someone's personal life, and if the article was wrong then Hermione would likely be furious at Viktor for not realising so.

'I read that article in the _Daily Prophet,' _muttered Viktor before he could convince himself not to mention anything.

Hermione's eyes flickered dangerously as he spoke, and she immediately stopped smiling at him.

'What about it?' she asked, her voice hushed but filled with menace; evidently she had not been pleased to read about herself in Britain's most read newspaper.

'I was just wondering if what it said was true. About you and Potter.'

'No it is not,' hissed Hermione, still keeping her voice quiet as a couple of students at a nearby table gave her interested looks.

Viktor immediately felt a wave of shame wash over him for ever thinking that it could be true.

'I'm really sorry,' he said quickly.

This apology, however, didn't seem sufficient for Hermione, and she looked even more furious.

'I can't believe you could think that was true, Viktor, especially after last night-' he voice trailed off and she looked down at her book, avoiding Viktor's eye.

'I'm sorry,' he repeated, his voice low and urgent, 'I just didn't know what to think. You spend so much time with him.'

'I spend time with Harry because he's my best friend!' exclaimed Hermione, his voice now filled with undisguised anger.

'Now, really! This is a library!'

The mean looking librarian had shuffled over and was eyeing both Viktor and Hermione suspiciously.

'Sorry!' snapped Viktor, 'We're just having a conversation.'

The librarian's eyes popped in shock, although Viktor thought it unlikely that this attitude from students was new to her.

'Get out of my library now, young man!'

Fuming, Viktor stormed out of the library without another word to either Hermione or that dictator like woman.

How had the morning taken this turn? He'd woken up with thoughts of his perfect date with a girl he was really falling for, yet a mere hour later he had upset said girl and been thrown out of a bloody library.

Why couldn't he have just ignored the stupid article about Hermione and Potter? Viktor had been in the papers enough times to realise that ninety per cent of what was written was complete rubbish. Yet he had been idiotic enough to challenge Hermione about it and now whatever they had between them was probably over before it had even started properly.

Viktor stopped walking and collapsed against a wall, his breathing quick and shallow.

He had no idea what to do now. What he really wanted was to go and talk to someone, to get advice and to share his feelings. The only issue was that he had no one to do this with, and that thought was even more depressing than the scene in the library.

His father would be unconcerned by Viktor's personal life, so long as it didn't affect his Quidditch ability, none of the other Durmstrang seventh years would be sympathetic, and the thought of contacting any of his Quidditch team mates with a problem was laughable.

Viktor knocked the back of his head against the wall and groaned. He was seventeen years old yet he had no one to turn to; what the hell was wrong with him?

A thought suddenly flickered to the front of Viktor's mind- his mother.

Viktor hadn't seen her for over two years now. Following the divorce from Viktor's father, she had returned to her native Germany and now lived in a large house hidden away in the mountains. Viktor knew she had been ill, unable to cope with his volatile father, but that still didn't excuse the fact that she had had little to do with her only son.

No, thought Viktor, he couldn't talk to his mother, just as he couldn't talk to his father.

Mechanically, he picked himself up and walked through the castle, retracing his earlier steps. This time, however, he paid no attention to the nosy students who stared at him. Instead he kept walking until he reached the Durmstrang ship, where he shut himself in his cabin and threw himself down on the bed.

As he lay there, Viktor was unsurprised to find tears in his eyes.

* * *

During the following weeks, Viktor felt that he had hit the lowest point of his life. While the rest of the students eagerly anticipated the upcoming First Task, Viktor felt more and more miserable each morning. But it was no longer due to his worrying about the Tournament and his Quidditch career, but the realisation that he really did have no one.

Viktor spent endless time wandering around the grounds alone, staring up at the sky or flying in the early hours of the morning before anyone else had risen. He also frequented the library, where he would pick the most isolated table and hide behind a stack of books.

Viktor saw Hermione all the time during these visits, but they never spoke to one another. Her demeanour when he was around made it clear that she had no desire to say another word to him, and Viktor was too ashamed of himself to instigate conversation.

His situation with Hermione, however, took a back seat as the weeks rolled by and the First Task approached. Karkaroff had been skulking around and listening in on conversations, and his spying pulled off when he discovered that dragons would be involved. Even this alarming news didn't terrify Viktor as much as it should have done- it wasn't the tasks he feared, but the attention.

* * *

On the morning of the First Task, however, the nerves about what was coming finally hit Viktor. He woke early after a night of fitful sleep that was punctuated by dreams of Hermione and the furious letters he would receive from his father if he performed badly.

For once, the Durmstrang students said nothing to him. While they all walked down to the dragon enclosure, they merely stared at Viktor as though wondering if he would finally snap.

'Are you feeling prepared, Viktor?' asked Karkaroff, who had insisted on walking alongside Viktor.

Viktor shrugged rather than answered; he had a plan to get past the dragon, but he wasn't sure prepared was the right word to use.

Karkaroff seemed to sense Viktor's nerves, because he patted him on the shoulder in what he probably imagined to be a fatherly manner, 'You'll be brilliant, Viktor. I would expect nothing less of our Quidditch champion.'

'Yes, sir,' muttered Viktor, his stomach now incredibly painful because of the intensity of his worry.

They reached a clearing in the thick forest and Viktor was shepherded into a make-shift tent that appeared to have been constructed for the task. Meanwhile, the rest of the Durmstrang students headed further into the trees towards the dragons which with Viktor would soon have to battle.

Inside the tent, Cedric Diggory and Fleur Delacour were sitting opposite one another but not saying a word. Cedric's face was taut and his eyes unblinking, while Fleur was merely staring at the ground.

Cedric nodded at Viktor but said nothing; Viktor didn't blame him- he suspected that if he tried to speak he might be sick.

Potter was nowhere to be seen, but for once Viktor found himself incapable of thinking badly about the boy. He was only fourteen and about to fight a dragon for God's sake! At least Viktor and the others had extra years of schooling behind them.

'Viktor!'

All three of the champions looked round at the sudden disturbance of their silence.

Viktor's stomach jumped so quickly that he almost was sick. Standing in the entrance to the tent, looking tenser than himself, Cedric and Fleur put together, was Hermione.

Conscious of Fleur's curious looks, Viktor headed over to where Hermione was standing.

She looked incredibly strained and pale, with dark circles under her eyes that revealed a lack of sleep in recent nights. Despite this, she was still beautiful and his proximity to her calmed Viktor dramatically.

'Please be careful,' she urged, her eyes wide and filled with concern.

Viktor stared at her in disbelief; it was as if the past few weeks hadn't happened, as if they hadn't had a blazing argument and then ignored one another.

'Viktor I'm sorry we haven't spoken for a while,' she said, her eyes locking onto his, 'But you have to be careful today. Please don't get hurt.'

'I'll try not to,' he said, a smile playing at the corners of his mouth, 'If you insist.'

Despite her obvious turmoil over the task, Hermione also smiled reluctantly.

'I'd better go,' she said, glancing round.

Viktor considered the situation for a moment. In a few minutes he would be doing battle with a dragon, during which there was a significant chance of him being eaten or scorched to death. If that did happen, then he didn't want to go out on the horrific low of the past few weeks.

That was why Viktor ignored the fact that Cedric and Fleur were watching him curiously, and acted spontaneously for once.

He leant forward and kissed Hermione. Perhaps it was because of the potential danger looming over him, or because they hadn't spoken in weeks, but it was the most passionate kiss Viktor could ever imagine.

He wrapped his arms round Hermione's waist, while her hands entangled themselves around his neck. The kiss was deep and urgent, and seemed to last an age, even though they pulled apart after just a minute or so.

She smiled at him and hurried off towards the stands.

Viktor watched her leave in a daze that was rather dangerous considering the fact that he was about to face a dragon and would need all his senses about him.

Hermione was the key, he realised. It was her that made Viktor relax and feel better about the train wreck that was his life. He'd been an idiot when he accused her of seeing Harry Potter, and he knew he wouldn't be that idiot again.

Grinning to himself, he headed back into the tent. Cedric smirked at him and raised his eyebrows, and Viktor returned the expression.

Now all he had to do was fight off a dragon.

* * *

**Sorry that this chapter was a bit shorter than usual. It's just meant to be one which shows Viktor realising how much he wants to be with Hermione. The next chapter will involve him asking her to the Yule Ball, so a bit more will happen in that one.**

**Thanks for reading, and please leave me a review :) **


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven **

'Could have gone worse,' reasoned Cedric, as the Hogwarts matron dabbed a thick paste onto the nasty burns that covered his face.

'Definitely,' agreed Viktor, who was not in need of any medical treatment, but who had gone to sit with Cedric anyway, rather than be mobbed by spectators.

The First Task had just finished and all four champions had emerged relatively unscathed, much to Karkaroff's disappointment. The Durmstrang headmaster had said a fleeting well done to Viktor before storming away from the enclosure, muttering about the Hungarian Horntail not having done its job properly.

Personally, Viktor was rather pleased with how the task had gone. He'd used a Conjunctivitis Curse on his dragon which had distracted it enough to allow him to slip past and retrieve the golden egg. The dragon had crushed some of the other eggs in the process, but Viktor wasn't letting that worry him.

To his immense surprise, Viktor hadn't taken one look at the baying crowd seated around the enclosure and lost his head. On the contrary, he'd somehow been able to block them out, although he realised that that may have had more to do with the need to avoid a fire-breathing dragon, rather than personal growth. Still, it was a start.

'Viktor!'

Hermione was running towards him, her face incredibly pale and covered in fingernail marks. Being on an adrenaline rush from battling a dragon, Viktor didn't stop to think about his actions. Instead he wrapped his arms around Hermione and kissed her passionately.

They broke apart after a few moments, both red faced and out of breath.

'You should fight a dragon more often,' she breathed.

Viktor chuckled and gently pressed his lips against hers once more.

'I have to go,' she muttered, looking very much as though she didn't want to leave, 'I need to go and see if Harry is alright.'

Viktor kissed her once more, and then watched her dash away.

If he was honest with himself, he was still jealous of her and Harry- they just spent so much time together. But Viktor had to believe Hermione when she said that they were just friends, otherwise he had absolutely no chance with her.

Grinning to himself about what had just happened, Viktor turned back around and looked at Cedric.

Cedric was smirking at him with arched eyebrows, 'What's going on there?'

Viktor shrugged, unsure how to answer that question, 'We're friends.'

Cedric snorted with derision, 'Viktor, you and I are friends. You and Hermione are a bit more than friends.'

Viktor paused for a moment, slightly thrown by Cedric calling them friends. It had been a long time since someone had referred to him as a friend, something which was rather sad when he thought about it.

'I suppose Hermione and I are more than friends,' admitted Viktor grudgingly.

Cedric grinned in a smug sort of way, 'I knew it.'

Viktor shook his head but couldn't help but smile all the same. He waved to Cedric and headed out of the medical bay, thinking that if he hung around for a bit he'd probably run into Hermione again.

He wandered back round to the champions tent, which was set back from the enclosure and therefore gave him some privacy from the spectators who were heading back up to the castle.

The judges and Fleur Delacour were gathered by the tent, all of them looking rather satisfied except for Mr Crouch who looked even more strained than he had done at the Wand Weighing. Karkaroff was nowhere to be seen; Viktor could only assume that his headmaster was so devastated that Potter hadn't been eaten or roasted alive, that he had barricaded himself in his cabin in temper.

'Viktor!' Ludo Bagman called Viktor over to the group, and since he was in a rather elated mood, Viktor complied and walked over towards them.

'Very well done,' exclaimed Bagman, wringing Viktor's hand enthusiastically and beaming, 'A Conjunctivitis Curse would have been my first choice as well.'

'Thank you,' said Viktor earnestly; there was something about the irrepressible Bagman- you couldn't help but warm to the man.

Bagman smiled again, and then turned to engage Dumbledore and Madame Maxime in conversation. Fleur was standing by her headmistress, looking rather relieved and a lot less haughty than usual.

'Well done,' Viktor said politely.

Fleur blinked in surprise that Viktor was initiating conversation, but recovered herself quickly.

'You too,' she smiled, flicking her silver hair over her shoulders, 'You did well. Only two more to go.'

'Yeah-'

Viktor broke off as he noticed who had just walked past.

'Excuse me,' he said to Fleur, before dashing off and probably leaving her in doubt that he was just as strange as she'd first thought.

Hermione noticed Viktor just as he broke apart from Fleur, and headed over to him. Viktor noticed she had been walking with her tall, ginger friend and none other than Harry Potter himself. Both of them looked on with open mouths as Hermione skipped over to Viktor and hugged him.

'Are you doing anything today?' he asked her, feeling slightly self-conscious as her friends continued to stare unashamedly.

'Nope,' said Hermione. She turned back to the two boys, 'I'll see you later in the common room.'

They both stood there for a moment, before Potter nudged his red-haired companion and they began following the crowds that were streaming back to the castle.

Viktor couldn't help smirking at this; one-nil to Krum.

Viktor and Hermione walked slowly, distancing themselves from everyone else. Feeling brave, Viktor reached out and took her hand, and she entwined her fingers with his.

They wandered through the forest in comfortable silence and emerged by the lake. Viktor was just about to suggest they go and sit in the spot they'd discovered a few weeks ago, when the unmistakable figure of Karkaroff appeared beside the Durmstrang ship.

Viktor sighed melodramatically; the last thing he wanted now was sycophantic praise from his headmaster. But Karkaroff walked towards them, and as he came closer, Viktor noticed he was clutching a letter.

'Hello, Viktor,' beamed the headmaster, rocking backwards on the balls of his feet, 'Congratulations again.'

'Thank you, sir.'

Karkaroff's gaze fell on Hermione and his smile became slightly strained as he took in their clasped hands.

'I have this letter for you, Viktor,' continued Karkaroff, ignoring Hermione as if she wasn't there, 'It has just arrived.'

Viktor took the letter from Karkaroff, 'Thank you, headmaster.'

He squeezed Hermione's hand and led her away from the ship, not wanting to be around Karkaroff any longer than necessary. The headmaster shook his head and disappeared back onto the ship, muttering to himself.

'He's friendly,' observed Hermione, as they sat down at the same spot where they'd had their first 'date' a while ago.

'Isn't he?' smirked Viktor, staring at the Durmstrang ship for a moment and wondering if Karkaroff's depression about Potter not being killed had caused him to start on the liquor yet.

'Aren't you going to open that?'

Viktor flicked the letter over in his hand and felt his good mood vanish as soon as he saw the handwriting.

How the hell had his father gotten a letter over here so quickly? The task had finished less than an hour ago!

Marvelling at the lengths his father went to in order to intimidate and pressurise his son, Viktor tore open the envelope and read the enclosed letter with trepidation.

_Dear Viktor, _

_Congratulations on your performance in the First Task. A contact of mine was in the audience and he immediately apparated home to tell me how you got on. I admit that the curse you used was a good idea, although I hear some of the other eggs were destroyed which cost you points._

_We cannot afford another mistake like that in the next task, so I urge you to be even more prepared for the next one. I have been in touch with Karkaroff and he has promised to pass on any information he hears about the upcoming tasks. _

_I have also been informed by the _Bulgarian Chronicle _that they are doing a profile of you for next Sunday's edition. They will be conducting a postal interview with you for this purpose. _

_Your father, _

_Ivan Krum. _

It wasn't as bad as previous letters, reasoned Viktor as he finished reading. His father had even complimented him, which had to be a first.

That said, his father was taken it upon himself to organise an interview with Bulgaria's largest newspaper without asking Viktor's permission. It made his blood boil, the fact that his father assumed he could make all the decisions.

'Bad news?' asked Hermione.

Viktor started, having temporarily forgotten that she was there.

'It's just from my father,' he muttered, 'He's always writing to me and warning me to do well in the tournament.'

'Warning you?' frowned Hermione, 'Shouldn't that be encouraging you?'

'Not where my father is concerned,' grimaced Viktor.

Hermione took a moment to respond. Instead she studied his face for a while, taking in his expression.

'Is your father part of the reason why you're so…' she waved her hand around as she searched for the appropriate word.

'Yes,' confirmed Viktor, understanding what she was getting at, 'He's pushed me into Quidditch ever since I was a child. Flying is my favourite thing to do, and I'm good at it, but I never wanted to play professionally.'

Hermione frowned again and stroked her thumb across Viktor's palm. It was incredibly soothing, and made Viktor completely forget about his father and all the other worries he carried around with him.

'What about your mother?' she asked quietly after a while.

Viktor took a deep breath and glanced up at the clear sky. He'd never explained it all to anyone before, yet now that he had the chance he felt something akin to relief.

'I don't see my mother,' he sighed, continuing to look upwards rather than at Hermione.

Hermione leaned towards him, forcing him to look at her. When he did he saw that her brown eyes were staring at him intently, as if willing him to continue.

'My mother was my father's second wife,' he began, taking a deep breath, 'he was married before and had two sons. Both of them were a disappointment to him.'

Hermione frowned, 'What was wrong with them?'

'Nothing,' smiled Viktor, 'Alek and Boris are great. Anyway, my father and their mother divorced for a number of reasons. Then he met my mother, Petra, when they were both working in Berlin. They got married and had me.'

He broke off, wondering if he was boring Hermione with his family history, but she didn't seem fed up. In fact, she appeared to be waiting for him to continue.

'I was always a natural at flying,' Viktor continued, 'I played on the Durmstrang team and spent all of the summer holidays soaring round the grounds of my father's house. Under pressure from him, I joined the Vultures' reserve team, although they always played me whenever I wasn't at school, and then the Bulgarian national team.'

'And you didn't want to?' It wasn't really a question so much as a statement; Hermione seemed to understand him like no one ever had.

'No,' confirmed Viktor, 'I love flying but I don't like the stress and the pressure that comes with professional Quidditch. Anyway, my mother didn't want me to start playing so young, and she and my father had some arguments about it. But then she got ill.'

He paused to take another breath, and as he did so he felt Hermione's hand tighten around his own.

'She'd suffered depression for years, but it suddenly got worse, no doubt because of my father. She went downhill quickly and they ended up divorcing. She lives in the mountains in Germany. I don't see her.'

He finished his story and glanced down at his hands, one of which was entwined with Hermione's.

'Viktor.'

Fingers found his chin and pushed his face upwards so that he was mere inches away from her.

Viktor stared into her eyes, marvelling at how much he had just revealed. He didn't think that he'd ever said so much to one person, let alone about something as personal as his family. There was just something about Hermione that encouraged him to talk, as though he realised she would listen to him no matter what.

'Thank you for telling me,' she whispered, her face so close that Viktor could feel her breath on his cheek.

He was silent for a moment. There were so many things that he wanted to do and say.

'I'm sorry we haven't spoken for a few weeks,' he said eventually looking into her eyes so that she would know he was serious, 'I'm sorry about what I said when that article came out.'

'It's fine,' she insisted, 'I shouldn't have reacted how I did.'

Viktor smiled and pressed his lips against hers.

* * *

The next couple of weeks were perhaps the happiest of Viktor's life. The worry of the first task was long gone, and now he had until February to prepare for the next one. To make matters even better, he hadn't received any more letters from his father, and the novelty of having Viktor Krum around was beginning to wear off which meant the Hogwarts students increasingly left him in peace.

However, these were merely happy extras; the main reason why Viktor was so happy for once was because of Hermione. They were gradually spending more and more time together, during which they were getting to know one another very well. They spent endless hours sitting by the lake or in the library, with Hermione explaining to Viktor all about her parents and her life before she realised she was a witch. In return, Viktor found himself able to tell her everything, all about his nerves and his Quidditch career, without worrying that she would simply laugh in his face.

The icing on the cake was that Viktor was now certain that there was nothing going on between Hermione and Harry Potter. Indeed, Viktor now felt some sympathy towards Potter, who remained the source of gossip and whispers.

Just as Viktor was beginning to think that this blissful existence would never end, however, he was brought back to earth with an unpleasant thump during the second week of December.

It was a Tuesday evening and he was climbing back on board the Durmstrang ship, having just spent a couple of hours with Hermione, when Karkaroff appeared out of nowhere.

'Evening, sir,' said Viktor, wondering why the headmaster was blocking the entrance to Viktor's cabin.

'Good evening, Viktor,' said Karkaroff briskly, looking slightly less composed than usual, 'I have to inform you about the Yule Ball, which will take place on Christmas night.'

Viktor's heart began beating erratically. He wasn't entirely sure what a Yule Ball was, but he had a horrible suspicion that dancing would be involved; his movements on the ground definitely weren't as graceful as when he was in the air.

'The Yule Ball is a dance, and it will be opened by the tournament champions and their partners.'

The emphasis Karkaroff placed on this last word left Viktor in no doubt as to what the headmaster really wanted to discuss.

'Viktor,' smiled the headmaster in what he probably assumed to be a fatherly way, 'I must impress upon you the importance of choosing a suitable partner. All attention will be on you.'

Viktor shuddered slightly at the thought, but pushed this aside, 'I already know who I'll be taking.'

Karkaroff pressed his lips together for a moment and then began talking in a careful voice, as though trying to be diplomatic, 'Viktor, I think it would be more prudent for you to take someone else. I realise that you enjoy spending time with-'

'Headmaster,' interrupted Viktor in what he hoped was a firm voice, 'I will be taking Hermione to the Yule Ball.'

Karkaroff surveyed Viktor for a moment, and there was a coldness in his eyes that he'd rarely used on his favourite student before. Then he turned on his heel and flounced off down the corridor without another word.

Feeling rather pleased with himself, Viktor pushed open the door to his cabin and headed inside. It was only when he climbed into bed ten minutes or so later, that a thought stuck him.

He still had to ask Hermione to the Yule Ball.

* * *

The following morning, Viktor was walking up to the castle for breakfast when he had the prickling sensation on the back of his neck that told him he was being watched. He spun round and pulled out his wand, only to find himself face to face with a two Hogwarts girls.

'Can I help you?' he demanded, wondering if they'd been purposely trying to give him a heart attack.

Instead of answering him, however, they burst into giggles and sprinted up to the castle.

He'd thought the female population of Hogwarts had gotten used to his presence over the past couple of months; evidently he'd been mistaken.

When Viktor reached the entrance hall, he noticed that girls seemed to be congregating in groups there as well, all of them looking rather giggly.

Wondering what on earth was going on, Viktor made to go into breakfast when Cedric appeared from nowhere and grabbed his arm.

'Don't go in there,' Cedric warned.

'Why not?' demanded Viktor.

'I've only just gotten out alive,' muttered Cedric, giving mutinous glances at the groups of girls, all of whom seemed to be watching Cedric and Viktor.

Then realisation hit Viktor; news of the Yule Ball had obviously spread around the school like wild fire.

'Let's go to Potions early,' he suggested to Cedric, who looked relived and followed Viktor down the stairs into the dungeons.

'It's like having a couple of hundred stalkers,' muttered Cedric, once they'd reached the relative safety of the cool dungeons, 'Have you asked anyone yet?'

Viktor shook his head.

'You'd better hurry up,' warned Cedric, 'The quicker you make it known that you've got a date, the sooner you'll be left alone.'

Viktor thought Cedric probably had a point there, but he was still ridiculously nervous about asking Hermione to be his date.

'Also, I bet someone else will ask Hermione if you don't. Maybe that Weasley guy she's friends with.'

'You're probably right,' conceded Viktor; Cedric was one of the few people who seemed to know about him and Hermione. Somehow they had managed to be fairly discreet over the past couple of weeks, mainly because neither of them wanted the whole school to be gossiping about them.

'I know I am,' confirmed Cedric.

* * *

At break time that day, Viktor sought out Hermione. Predictably, he found her in the library, pouring over a large book on house elves. She was continuing her campaign for better wages, despite having only got a handful of students to sign up to her group.

He walked over to her table and leant over her, 'Hello.'

She jumped slightly and then scowled when she saw who it was, 'Don't do that!'

'Sorry,' he grinned, taking a seat next to her, 'I wanted to ask you something.'

'What?' she asked impatiently.

Viktor opened his mouth but found he was suddenly incapable of speech. For God's sake he had spent so much time with this girl recently. He'd kissed her, held her hand, told her all about his life, yet he couldn't ask her to a dance!

The bell suddenly rang and Hermione jumped to her feet, 'Sorry, I have to go to Transfiguration.'

She was walking out of the door when Cedric's words came back to Viktor.

Suddenly he was also on his feet.

'Hermione Granger, will you go to the Yule Ball with me?'

* * *

**I hope this chapter was okay :) I've re-read the last one and realised it's not great at all, so I apologise for that one!**

**The next chapter will be about the Yule Ball, and they'll be a bit of drama with Karkaroff and Ron. Oh and obviously Viktor's father is going to have something to say about him taking Hermione as his date. **

**Thanks for reading, and please please please review! **


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight **

Time seemed to magically speed up as Christmas approached. The days grew shorter and colder, and the layer of snow blanketing the grounds was gradually becoming thicker and thicker. Meanwhile, the interior of Hogwarts Castle was richly decorated with all manner of Christmas paraphernalia.

For Viktor and the other Durmstrang students, the scale of festivity at Hogwarts was rather breath taking. The Durmstrang Institute usually made do with a single Christmas tree that was haphazardly erected only a couple of days before Christmas Day, and then taken down almost immediately afterwards.

Viktor greatly appreciated Hogwarts' effort, and as the holidays approached, he began to think that this might just be one of the best Christmases he'd ever had. After all, he was in a lavishly decorated castle, the Second Task was still a couple of months away, and for the first time ever it was likely that he'd be spending Christmas with people he actually liked.

While he and Hermione continued meeting all through December, Viktor also realised that he had found something of a friend in Cedric Diggory. Despite being Tournament rivals, the two of them seemed to get on well, perhaps because of their shared understanding of what it was like to constantly be stalked.

Therefore, Viktor spent the first part of the holidays walking hand in hand with Hermione through the frozen grounds, or else playing Quidditch with Cedric who, it turned out, was a pretty decent flyer.

When Christmas Day finally arrived, it was just as good as promised, although time seemed to move incredibly quickly and, before Viktor knew it, he was getting ready for the Yule Ball.

If Hermione hadn't agreed to go with him, then Viktor realised that he would probably be dreading the event. But she had, so he wasn't.

In fact, he was rather looking forward to it, he thought as he inspected his black dress robes in the mirror of his cabin.

Maybe it was because they'd been fairly discreet about their relationship (or whatever it was they were doing) over the past few weeks, but Viktor was suddenly fed up of it being some kind of secret. He wanted everyone- especially the snobby, prejudice Karkaroff- to know that they were together. Of course, Viktor and Hermione still hadn't defined their 'relationship', but Viktor was hoping that if the ball went well then they might have that conversation.

Just then, there was a sharp knock on the cabin door.

Viktor sighed, knowing exactly who that would be. His original roommates had disappeared off into other cabins, and never called on him. Therefore, it was not a surprise to Viktor when he pulled open the door and found Karkaroff standing on the threshold.

'Hello, sir.'

'Good evening,' said Karkaroff, attempting and failing to smile. He had distinctly cooled to Viktor over the past few weeks, ever since he'd found out that his prized student was dating a Muggle born.

'The champions are needed in the Entrance Hall,' said Karkaroff dismissively, 'You're to open the ball.'

'Thanks, sir,' smiled Viktor, who was rather enjoying how much he had annoyed the headmaster, 'I'll leave now.'

Karkaroff nodded and stomped back down the hallway, no doubt planning on swigging a large glass of something or other before the dance began.

Viktor grinned to himself and moved back in front of the mirror for one last check of his appearance.

His dress robes looked good, he reasoned, as he stood in front of the glass. If only he could be a bit taller though, or slightly less round shouldered.

Oh well, he thought dismissively. He was opening the evening with Fleur and Cedric- no one would be looking at him.

Having gotten over his brief moment of vanity, Viktor turned away from the mirror and strode out of the door.

Judging by the raucous noise coming from the rest of the cabins, Viktor's classmates were still getting ready. He could hear numerous lewd jokes as he walked down along the hallway of the ship; how most of them had found a date was a complete mystery to Viktor.

He stepped off the ship and began walking up through the snowy grounds to the castle. The extravagant Christmas decorations seemed to have extended to outside as well. There were rose bushes dotted around, along with secluded little stone benches, presumably for couples. For some reason, Viktor blushed as he walked past them.

When he reached the Entrance Hall, Viktor was slightly taken aback by just how many people were crowded inside it; he hadn't realised there were so many students here. The hall was packed full of boys looking uncomfortable in dress robes, and girls standing in groups giggling with one another.

Viktor gave the crowds a quick scan but failed to spot Hermione anywhere; perhaps she was still in Gryffindor tower getting ready.

'Viktor!'

Cedric was standing a few feet away, accompanied by a pretty girl Viktor didn't know.

'Hello,' he said to them both, once he'd pushed his way towards them.

'Alright?,' said Cedric, 'this is Cho.'

Cho gave Viktor a rather dazzling smile and shook his hand.

'It's so exciting that we're going to open the dance, isn't it?' she gushed, her eyes flicking from Cedric to Viktor, clearly expecting both of them to share her enthusiasm.

Viktor managed a polite smile in response, although his insides were somewhat jelly like at the thought of dancing in front of so many people. He'd been practising in his cabin, imagining that the thin air before him was Hermione. Viktor squirmed slightly at the embarrassing memory and hoped that neither Cedric nor Cho could perform Legilimency.

'Who's your date, Viktor?' asked Cho brightly.

'He's going with Hermione Granger,' interjected Cedric, throwing a friendly smirk at Viktor.

'Oh, is that the girl who's always with Harry Potter?' Cho asked.

'Yes,' said Viktor, who didn't particularly want reminding of that fact.

He let Cedric and Cho make small talk with one another, as he scanned the crowds. Just as Viktor was doubting whether Hermione would actually turn up, or whether it had all been a nasty joke on her part, Viktor saw her descend the main staircase.

It took him a moment to string a coherent thought together, she looked that amazing. Her dress robes were light blue in colour, almost turquoise, and they worked brilliantly with her hair which was thick and glossy.

In Viktor's opinion, however, the main reason why Hermione looked so amazing was her smile. As she noticed him and glided through the crowds to reach him, she was positively beaming- and it made her look absolutely beautiful.

'Hi,' she breathed.

'Hello,' smiled Viktor.

He noticed that Cedric and Cho were exchanging knowing looks with one another, but he ignored them.

'You look beautiful,' he told Hermione, hoping she realised just how true his words were.

'Thank you,' she smiled happily, 'You look nice.'

'Thanks,' laughed Viktor.

'Hello, you look great!' exclaimed Cho, pushing forward and examining Hermione's outfit.

'Thanks,' said Hermione looking slightly taken aback, 'Erm, I like your shoes.'

'Ooh they're nice, aren't they?' gushed Cho, sticking her foot out and revealing a pair of glittery, silver heels.

Suddenly, Professor McGonagall shouted for all the champions to go over to her, something which came as a bit of a relief for Viktor; Cho sounded so enthusiastic that he wouldn't be surprised if she'd suggested double dates.

Hermione grinned at Viktor and took his arm, then they headed over to where the deputy headmistress was standing.

The other two champions were already there. Fleur was accompanied by a male Hogwarts student who looked more than a little dazed, and Potter was standing with a dark haired girl who seemed to be enjoying the experience immensely.

As he and Hermione moved to stand next to Potter and his date, Viktor noticed that the fourth champion did something of a double take, and then gazed at Hermione open mouthed for a moment.

Two nil to Krum, thought Viktor smugly.

The doors of the Great Hall swung open and McGonagall gestured for the champions to lead the way. Viktor found himself in a line behind Fleur and the dazed boy, while Potter stood at the back, still gaping at Hermione.

The Hall had been transformed from its usual state into a venue more appropriate for a Christmas ball. Instead of five long tables, there were around a hundred circular ones, all illuminated by floating candles. Extravagant ice sculptures were dotted around the room, and a large silver dance floor that looked more like a sheet of glass had been installed in the middle of the hall.

Viktor was so preoccupied with the decorations, that he didn't noticed they'd reached the champions' table until Hermione gently tugged his arm. The two of them took seats next to one another, with Cedric and Cho sitting on Hermione's right. Fleur's date took the chair on Viktor's left, although it was a small miracle that he managed to find his seat at all, considering how entranced he was by Fleur.

'Everyone's looking at us,' muttered Hermione; her cheeks were slightly flushed, but she looked rather pleased all the same.

Viktor glanced around and saw that all attention was indeed focused on the top table. To his immense surprise, however, he was not worried about this in the slightest.

'I'm glad you came with me, Hermione.'

Rather than look pleased at this, however, Hermione winced slightly.

'What?' asked Viktor in a panicked voice.

Hermione laughed and tossed her glossy hair over her shoulders. She took his hand and patted it.

'Viktor, I really appreciate you asking me here tonight.'

'But?'

She laughed again, in a way that sounded like a wind chime moving in the breeze, 'But I really need to teach you how to say my name properly.'

Viktor hadn't been expecting that, and he found himself burst out with laughter as well.

The sudden burst of noise attracted the attention of Karkaroff, who was sitting at the other end of the table and frowning down at Viktor and Hermione. It could not have been plainer that he disapproved of Viktor's choice of date but, since he was sitting next to Dumbledore, Karkaroff was prevented from saying anything particularly venomous.

Viktor thoroughly enjoyed the meal that followed. The food was even more delicious than usual, but it was the company which made the night for him. Viktor couldn't remember the last time he'd sat at a table and had a really enjoyable conversation with other people, but tonight he did. He and Hermione talked to one another about every topic under the sun, while their hands were entwined under the table. Then they chatted to Cedric and Cho, and the four of them seemed to get on brilliantly.

It was only when Dumbledore got to his feet and announced that the dancing would now begin, that Viktor remembered that there was more of the evening to come.

The tables dissolved around them, while the chairs lined themselves up against the walls- presumably for people who were lucky enough to escape having to dance.

Feeling rather nervous, Viktor found himself and Hermione shepherded onto the glass-like dance floor, along with Cedric, Fleur and Potter and their respective partners.

Hermione didn't appear to share Viktor's stage fright, however. She took one of his hands, and then suddenly the music began. The first song was a slow one and Viktor was incredibly conscious of the hundreds of eyes focused on him.

The dancing part was easier than he'd expected it to be, though. In fact, as he and Hermione moved across the floor, Viktor realised just how right it felt. The spectators seemed to fade away, and the only two people left were him and Hermione.

It was perfect.

The song ended too quickly in Viktor's opinion, and was replaced by a more up-beat one. Gradually more and more couples joined the dance floor, although Viktor hardly noticed them. He was lost in the swirling colours of Hermione's eyes, and completely oblivious to the world around him.

'Shall we take a break?' laughed Hermione, after they had danced for several songs.

'Sure,' shrugged Viktor, who was happy to continue dancing all night if truth be told.

He took Hermione's hand and led her off the dance floor. He was about to suggest they took seats at the edge of the hall, when he remembered the richly decorated gardens he'd passed on his way up to the castle.

'Where are we going?' asked Hermione, as she followed Viktor out of the open doors into the night.

Viktor led her to one of the stone benches that were dotted around the rose bushes, and they sat down next to one another.

'Are you enjoying yourself?' Viktor asked Hermione, taking her hand in his.

'Yes,' she said, the she leant forward and looked straight into his eyes like she always did, 'Thank you for asking me.'

Viktor smiled at her, pleased that she was having as good a time as him.

'I really like you,' he confessed, looking down at their entwined hands.

'I like you too, Viktor.'

He took a deep breath and looked at her, 'Will you be my girlfriend?'

Hermione looked taken aback for a moment, as she stared at him in the darkness.

'Really?' she asked in a quiet voice.

'Of course,' said Viktor, sounding bemused.

In way of response, Hermione leant over and closed the space between them. The kiss was their best yet, perhaps because it was Christmas night and they'd just been dancing.

'Is that a yes?' asked Viktor, when they pulled apart.

'Yes,' laughed Hermione, as Viktor pressed his lips to hers once more.

* * *

A while later, both Viktor and Hermione were feeling the cold, something which was unsurprising since it was night time, there was snow on the ground, and they'd been sitting on a stone bench.

'Shall we get drinks?' suggested Viktor, as they headed back inside, shivering slightly.

'Definitely,' agreed Hermione, 'Do you think they have Butterbeer?'

The two of them were walking over to the make-shift bar when Hermione's attention was caught by two boys sitting across the room. Viktor glanced over them and recognised them as none other than the famous Harry Potter and his ginger side-kick.

'I'll get the drinks if you want to go and talk to them,' said Viktor; Hermione was supposedly his girlfriend now, and he didn't think she'd consider jealousy a particularly attractive trait in a boyfriend.

'Okay,' said Hermione, looking surprised.

She kissed Viktor on the cheek and then skipped off to join her friends. Viktor, meanwhile, headed over to the bar, where he ran into Cedric and Cho.

'Having a good night?' Cedric asked, as he passed Viktor a couple of Butterbeers.

'It's been brilliant,' admitted Viktor.

Cho gave him a knowing look, 'You and Hermione are so cute together.'

Viktor couldn't help but chuckle at that- he didn't think he'd ever been called cute before.

'How's your night been?'

Viktor immediately wished he hadn't asked, however, because Cedric and Cho proceeded to clasp each other's hand and exchange love-struck looks.

'It's been great,' sighed Cho, as she gazed into Cedric's eyes.

Feeling he wouldn't be missed, Viktor nodded goodbye and turned back to find Hermione.

She was standing over with her friends, although she didn't look particularly happy. As Viktor made his way over to them, he realised that Hermione and the red haired boy, that he thought might be called Ron, were shouting at one another.

Viktor pushed his way through the crowd, feeling a strange desire to protect Hermione- although knowing her she wouldn't need any assistance whatsoever. Just as he was about to reach them, however, Hermione gave Ron one final withering look and flounced off out of the Great Hall.

Viktor spared Ron a glare that he hoped looked threatening, before following Hermione.

'Hermione!'

She was halfway across the Entrance Hall when she turned and saw Viktor.

'Oh, hello,' she said, and there was something in her voice that made Viktor think he may not have been the one that she wanted to chase her.

'Are you okay?'

She nodded, but was in the process of wiping tears from her eyes at the same time.

'Yes, Viktor,' she said, 'I've had a brilliant night until now. I'm really sorry, I need to go.'

And with that she dashed up the staircase, rather like a girl from the Muggle fairy tales that Viktor's mother used to read him; he half expected to find that she had left a glass slipper behind.

Viktor stood there for a moment, unsure how the night had gone from perfect to disastrous in the space of five minutes.

He'd been having an amazing time, and she'd said that she was really enjoying it as well; she'd agreed to be his girlfriend for God's sake! Yet now she had disappeared simply because of an argument with a friend.

Viktor kicked the ornate staircase in frustration, something which failed to make him feel any better. In fact, it made him feel even worse, because now his foot really hurt.

There wasn't much point in him re-joining the party now; he had no desire to be a third wheel to Cedric and Cho. Therefore, Viktor turned on his heel and strode out through the front doors, seething with anger and annoyance.

It wasn't until later, when he'd reached his cabin and collapsed onto his bed that a thought crossed Viktor's mind.

Maybe Harry Potter wasn't the boy he needed to be jealous of.

* * *

**So what did you think of the chapter? I hope it was okay- leave me a review please :) **

***Self plug warning* If any of you like the Harry/ Muggle OC pairing, then please read my multi-chapter story 'The Girl Who Waited.' It'd be great if you could let me know what you think.**

**Until next time... **


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

When Viktor woke from a fitful sleep the following morning, it took him a few moments to remember why he was so agitated. And then the memories of the Yule Ball came flooding back to him.

Dancing with Hermione as though they were the only two people in the room; chatting to Cedric and Cho during a delicious meal; Hermione agreeing to be his girlfriend.

It had been a wonderful night, yet it had somehow ended with Hermione having a blazing row with one of her friends and then vanishing. It had been as though the evening she'd had with Viktor hadn't mattered at all.

Viktor sighed deeply and stared at the wooden celling above his head, as if it somehow held the answers to his problems.

He'd been convinced that what he had with Hermione was the real thing. Granted, Viktor's previous romantic experience was limited to one girl, but he was certain that he and Hermione were perfect together.

But now it was clear that she was preoccupied with her male friends, whether it be Harry Potter or the one she'd had an argument with at the Ball.

But as well as being upset that he may have lost a supposed girlfriend, Viktor also had a slightly more selfish reason to not want his relationship with Hermione to end; what if his new found confidence crumbled along with their romance?

Since he had gotten to know Hermione, Viktor had been surer of himself than he'd ever been. He'd stood up to Karkaroff, managed to build a friendship with Cedric, and ignored his father's letters without fear of a reprisal.

Whenever Viktor had been worried about his future, about whether he'd be forced into a Vultures contract, he'd consoled himself with the thought that Hermione would help him stand up for himself.

Now what?

Suddenly Viktor couldn't sit in his cabin any longer. He needed to get outside and let the fresh Boxing Day air clear his head.

He jumped out of bed, quickly dressed and picked up his broomstick.

The Durmstrang ship was as quiet as it usually was in the morning, as Viktor walked along the corridor. There had been trouble last night when Karkaroff had discovered a group of his students attempting to smuggle vodka into the Ball. He'd been furious and had banned the offending pupils from the dance, which of course meant they had just sat in their cabins getting drunk instead. No doubt most of them were still passed out on the floor.

The cold morning air hit Viktor as soon as he set foot on the snow covered ground beside the lake. It was quite simply freezing, but Viktor had flown in much worse conditions than this, and the sky was fairly clear anyway.

He really was a walking contradiction, mused Viktor, as he walked over to the Quidditch pitch with his Firebolt resting on his shoulder. He hated playing professional Quidditch, and yet flying was the only thing which helped him temporarily forget his worries.

As the pitch came into view, Viktor realised with mild surprise that he was not the only person who'd had the idea of going flying before breakfast. Cedric was already on the pitch, weaving in and out of the goal posts.

Cedric landed when Viktor approached, and waved his hand by way of greeting.

'What are you doing here?' asked Viktor, wondering why someone who'd clearly had an amazing time last night would be up so early.

Cedric shrugged, 'I've not been sleeping well, I just can't get my head around that golden egg.'

Upon closer inspection, Cedric did look rather strained. There were grey bags under his eyes that looked in danger of becoming a permanent addition to his features.

'Me neither,' said Viktor truthfully; he'd opened the egg a couple of weeks ago but had promptly shut it when all it did was make a horrible screeching noise.

'How was last night?' smirked Cedric, his expression brightening suddenly, 'You and Hermione looked pretty friendly.'

This time it was Viktor's turn to shrug. He couldn't quite articulate what had happened last night. After all, he didn't even know what Hermione and Ron's argument had been about. All Viktor knew was that whatever was said had caused her to storm off to bed before the Ball had finished.

'Cho said she'd seen Hermione arguing with that Weasley guy,' confessed Cedric, looking somewhat apologetic.

'Yeah,' said Viktor as way of confirmation, 'And then she ran off and I've not seen her since.'

'Wow,' whistled Cedric, 'Why haven't you gone to find her this morning?'

Viktor shrugged again; he wasn't sure if it was pride or nerves that was stopping him going and demanding an explanation from Hermione.

'For God's sake, Viktor!' exclaimed Cedric, 'Just go and talk to her! What's the worst that could happen?'

In Viktor's mind, however, there were numerous horrible scenarios- she could reject him, she could confess that she was dating Ron, she could laugh in his face.

Cedric gave him an impatient look that reminded Viktor briefly of his father during Quidditch season.

'You like her, yes?' asked Cedric, as if talking to a young child.

'Yes,' admitted Viktor reluctantly; he wasn't at all used to discussing his feelings, let alone with another man.

'Well then there's no point waiting around. Go and see her and find out what's going on!'

Cedric said this all very quickly, and with the air of an impatient teacher explaining something very simple to someone very stupid.

'Fine!' exclaimed Viktor, 'Fine, I'll go and talk to her.'

'Good,' said Cedric smugly, 'You don't know what's going to happen next in this Tournament. Imagine if you were killed in the second task and hadn't sorted things out with Hermione.'

Viktor hadn't thought about it that way. He'd never really been a seize-the-moment kind of person, but Cedric's words made sense. The First Task had involved dragons, so who knew what danger lay ahead.

'Right, I'm going in for breakfast,' said Cedric, 'Go and talk to Hermione!'

Viktor watched him walk away and felt some of his resolve disappear with Cedric.

Maybe he'd just have a fly first, like he'd originally planned. Hermione probably wouldn't even be up yet anyway, and even if she was she might be with Potter or Ron.

Making up his mind, Viktor swung his right leg over his broom and kicked off from the hard ground. It was freezing up in the air, but Viktor never seemed to notice the cold when he was flying.

He darted in between the goal posts at top speed, sped around the pitch doing endless laps, and climbed so high above the ground that he was almost level with the clouds.

After an hour or so, however, Viktor could no longer feel his fingers. Accepting defeat, he descended to the ground and reluctantly left the pitch.

He trudged back to the Durmstrang ship for a shower, thinking that after he'd washed there wasn't any other excuse not to follow Cedric's advice.

The ship was still fairly quiet when Viktor climbed back onto it; evidently the effects of last night's vodka were still being felt. Karkaroff was nowhere to be seen either, which was also no surprise since he too had drank copious amounts of liquor at the Ball.

Viktor reached the end of the corridor and pushed open his cabin door, fully expecting the room to be as empty as when he'd left it.

He was wrong, however- Hermione was sitting on the edge of his bed.

Viktor took in the sight of her, feeling rather shocked. Firstly, he'd expected her to still be annoyed by whatever happened last night, and secondly Karkaroff would have a fit if he discovered her there.

'What are you doing here?' he asked incredulously.

Hermione forced a weak smile, which was a rather poor imitation of how happy she'd looked last night. She looked even more put-upon than Cedric, which was definitely saying something.

'I need to apologise for last night,' she sighed.

'Oh,' replied Viktor inarticulately.

Feeling incredibly awkward, he sat down next to Hermione on the bed. A blush crept across Viktor's face as he realised that they were both sitting on his bed, in a deserted room, while everyone else on the ship was asleep.

Viktor shook his head, trying to push certain thoughts from his mind. He cleared his throat, 'So what did you want to talk about?'

'I'm so sorry for what happened last night!' said Hermione instantly; her eyes looked desperately into Viktor's.

'Why did you run away?' he asked quietly, 'I thought you had a good time.'

'I did!' she insisted.

She grabbed Viktor's hand as she said this, as if to prove her point.

'But?'

Hermione sighed and looked down at the floor, 'But, it was just Ron. He said some stuff…'

She trailed off, leaving them both sitting in silence.

'I do really like you, Viktor,' Hermione continued after a while, 'And I meant what I said last night about wanting to be your girlfriend.'

'Really?'

Viktor couldn't keep the hopeful note from his voice. He realised just how pathetic he was, willing to accept an apology so readily, but he didn't care.

Hermione nodded and smiled at him again; this time her expression was closer to how she'd looked while they were dancing at the Ball.

'But,' she said, taking a deep breath, 'You have to understand that Harry and Ron have been my best friends for almost four years.'

She didn't need to say anything else, because Viktor understood perfectly- Harry and Ron would always come first for her.

Now he just had to decide whether he could deal with this, whether he could accept that Hermione may be his girlfriend but he would not be the most important man in her life.

Viktor looked at Hermione, and took in her smile, her eyes, her beauty. There was only one answer really, and he supposed he had known it ever since he'd first met her in the library.

Without saying a word, Viktor leant forward and closed the space between them. One of his arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her impossibly close against him, while the other tangled in her hair. Their lips met with more passion and enthusiasm than ever before. It was complete bliss, and Viktor knew in that moment that he could cope with Potter and Weasley, he could control his jealousy, as long as he had Hermione.

'What the hell is going on here?'

A thrill of horror washed over Viktor as he straightened up and came face to face with Karkaroff, the latter of who seemed apoplectic with rage.

The headmaster threw a furious glare at Hermione and then jerked his head towards the door, indicating she should leave. Hermione jumped up, gave Viktor an apologetic look and then hurried out of the cabin.

Karkaroff was silent for a moment. Instead he surveyed Viktor with a look of disgust and paced the small room.

Viktor watched his headmaster with a mixture of amusement and nerves. Karkaroff was looking so agitated it was as if someone had been murdered, yet Viktor failed to see how his personal life was any concern of Karkaroff's.

'I have told you before, Viktor, that I don't think that girl is suitable for you,' said Karkaroff, his voice so grave that he may have been at the funeral of a close friend.

'Why not?' asked Viktor harshly, not caring that it was his headmaster he was addressing.

Karkaroff opened his mouth to say something and then clearly thought better of it. Instead he wrung his hands and twitched slightly.

'I have been advised by others that she may not been an appropriate choice,' said Karkaroff delicately, 'that you may be better suited to someone who is your equal.'

'My equal?' Viktor half yelled in outrage, 'Do you mean that because Hermione is Muggleborn she'd not worthy of going out with me?'

Karkaroff's expression showed that he clearly did think this, but he was evidently trying to get at something else as well.

'No,' he said, taking a deep breath as the lie passed over his lips, 'Someone who has as much potential as you career wise, someone…'

Karkaroff didn't get to finish his sentence, however because Viktor suddenly cut him off; a thought had struck him and now everything made sense.

'Did my father put you up to this?' asked Viktor quietly.

'I may have written to him about the girl,' conceded Karkaroff, 'and your father was most displeased.'

'Why?' demanded Viktor, completely outraged that his father's obsession for control now stretched to his romantic life.

'Viktor,' began Karkaroff in a patronising voice, 'you should be with someone who can help your career. There's no point being Bulgaria's Quidditch star if your partner is an obscure Muggleborn.'

Words completely failed Viktor. He'd always known that his father would stop at nothing to advance his son's Quidditch career. Yet now Ivan was actually using Karkaroff as a spy in order to have total control over every aspect of Viktor's life. It was practically psychotic!

Perhaps misinterpreting Viktor's silence to mean that he had taken on board the advice, Karkaroff gave him a half smile and tossed a letter onto the bed.

'That came for you an hour ago.'

Without another word, Karkaroff walked out of the cabin, leaving Viktor in a state of shock and horror.

He was never going to be free from his father. Even if Hermione helped him be brave and stand up for what he wanted, his father would always find a way to regain control. Ivan's involvement with the Vultures, his arranging of interviews, his interference in Viktor's personal life would never stop. He would continue to bully, coheres and argue until he had total control over Viktor.

Something _had_ changed however. Viktor was no longer going to take it all lying down. He was going to go out of his way to challenge his father at every step. He would continue to date Hermione and he would make his own decisions regarding his Quidditch career.

Viktor's gaze fell on the letter Karkaroff had left. He picked it up, fully expecting it to be from his father. Once he'd flicked it over, however, he immediately recognised the extravagant writing of the Vultures manager.

_Dear Viktor,_

_Merry Christmas! I apologise for writing at this time, but I thought it better that we do business before your lessons and the Tournament resume. _

_I will put it in plain terms Viktor- the Vratsa Vultures are desperate for you to sign a full time contract. I have been in communication with your father, and we have decided that a five year one is the best way to start. Of course once this time is up we are incredibly likely to want to sign you again!_

_All the hard work is done for you Viktor. All I ask is that you sign the contract which I will forward to you in the next couple of days._

_Congratulations, one signature and you will be the Vratsa Vultures' star Seeker!_

_All the best,_

_Mr Demidov_

_Manager, Vratsa Vultures_

A smile crept across Viktor's face as he read his manager's words.

So his father had arranged for a five year contract, had he? And all that was required was Viktor's signature.

Well he had other ideas, thought Viktor, as he picked up a quill and began to write a reply.

* * *

**Hope you liked the chapter. Please leave me a review and let me know if you did (or if you didn't!)**

**Unfortunately I'm not going to be able to update for two weeks now because I'm about to go on holiday (without a laptop and internet access.) However, I'll try and get the next chapter posted as soon as I'm back.**

**Until then… write me a review! ;) **


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